Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Star
by hypaalicious
Summary: Astria Benton thought her biggest problem was going to be starting private high school, until a single brown feline alters her life and sends her on a mission to uncover her ancient past, and to help save the present. -rewrite-
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Oh yeah, I've gone nuts. Instead of doing the sane thing and continuing an unfinished fiction, I'm redoing one I haven't written since 1999, and hasn't been edited since 2004. It's now 2009, the first of the new year at present, no less. WHAT BETTER WAY TO KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH OLD STUFF THAT PROBABLY SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE?!?

Well, in all honesty and shedding any humble pretenses just for the moment, I like this story for as corny as it is, and it holds a special place in my heart. That is why I am doing this.

Partly for old time's sake, and also for the lack of anything else to replace them with, the theme songs of "Eye Opener" by Brisk & Trixxy and "You're Shining" by Breeze & Styles will still stand. Even if I don't really listen to Happy Hardcore anymore.

You don't need a disclaimer for a fanfiction. At least, you shouldn't. But I'll say it once anyway. I don't own Sailor Moon. But I do own all other fictional characters that pop up in this story.

* * *

Stars twinkled innocently, unchanging in the millennia upon millennia of their existence, in the dark depths of the skies... no, the never-ending depths of space. They were beautifully blind to everything that surrounded them, time itself being a concept beyond their simple existence. They would carry on. They would continue.

A pair of clear blue eyes, as pale as the most majestic of glaciers, gazed almost in wonder at this tranquil night sky. Her frame was graced by a simple, yet elegant long white gown that fell about her toes like water. Even as she lay, dazed and weak upon a collapsed large marble pillar, her mere presence was unmistakable as a noble. If one could ignore the destruction that lay waste to the once unmatched beauty of the Moon Kingdom, it would almost seem like the woman was posed perfectly for what would be an awe-inspiring painting, a masterpiece meant to ensnare any who looked upon it in the beauty of the goddess with almost endless waves of silvery hair... and the heart-wrenching sorrow at the end of an era.

No, she could not bear to look at the remains of her home. She was not even sure if she could summon the strength to try, even if she had dared. It was done. In her right hand, an appendage almost completely forgotten by the ruler of the once-powerful Silver Millennium, she clutched a slender wand. It was simple in its design, its base just long enough to be held comfortably in one palm, with the top being crested by the elegant swoop of a crescent moon. It was just a tool, a tool for its bearer to channel the power of the Ginzuishou, the Silver Crystal. It was fashioned to lessen the strain on those who shared the bloodline of the Celestials, the only ones chosen to harness that power.

But even so, it had been too much of a strain. No one had ever prepared for it to be used in that fashion. There was never any need. No need that anyone, perhaps even the immortal guardian of Time Sailor Pluto, could have foreseen. Or perhaps... it was simply meant to be. A shallow sigh escaped from pale lips, and eyelids fluttered sluggishly. Yes... it was inevitable, wasn't it? All that she had hoped for, all that she had achieved... it was destined for tatters as despondent as her largest accomplishments.

Innocence. Or was it naïveté? But she could not spend her last moments in regret. She had brought peace and happiness to a millennia's worth of inhabitants, and that would have to be enough.

But it wasn't enough. If that had simply been enough, she would not have carried through the deed that doomed her life to fade at that very moment. Because, even then, when all light had been dashed asunder... she still cradled hope. Hope that her only daughter...

"Queen Selenity!"

Silver strands of hair brushed softly upon one cheek as she managed to turn her head, ever so slowly, from the twinkling stars to the light brown feline that was carefully yet urgently weaving its way through the debris. Selenity's eyes softened at the Mau, one of the few inhabitants that survived the complete annihilation of their home planet so many years ago, before the start of the Silver Millennium. It was what originally sparked the Queen into action, to draw around the cosmos a blanket of peace and kindness. No planet deserved to be torn asunder by negativity and chaos as Mau once was, and Queen Selenity swore on her Crystal that it would never happen again. The Mau, enchanted beings endowed with the ability to switch form from feline to human, and their lineage were saved just barely in those few that survived the catastrophe by many planets and societies that took them under care. Those that formed life bonds with their new home took on the mark of that royal bloodline, much like the Queen's advisors Luna and Artemis had.

This Mau, however, did not belong to the Queen. A star shape marked the forehead of this one, but was far from being a foe.

"Queen Selenity!" The feline exclaimed again, worry evident in her voice as she came more within range of the fallen royal. Its emerald eyes shone with the utmost concern at the quickly weakening image of the galaxy's most renowned and powerful figure. Her breath caught in her small throat when she glimpsed sight of the dangerously dimming glow of the Silver Crystal. "You're lucky to be alive after the attack by the Dark Kingdom. I must send for help at once!"

A mournful smile from the queen stopped the cat from a hasty retreat back across the littered ground. "Always so sweet, Twilight." Her voice flitted weakly, a sigh almost immediately dissipating into the still air. "Never change that about you."

Twilight froze in horror, stepping closer to Selenity. "Don't talk like that, Queen!" Her own voice was pitched sharply in alarm. "You must persevere so that we may have the chance to rebuild-"

"No... it's too late, Twilight. I know you see it as well as I do. This kingdom... this era... it has come to an end, as all things must. Time... life must go on without this universal stronghold. The damage that has been dealt is too great." She paused to take a shallow breath, her chest rising slightly. "But I have... salvaged what I could. My daughter, her court, and even her lover Endymion have been sent into the future... to the planet Earth. They did not deserve this ending. They... will be reborn, with the chance at finding themselves and happiness."

The Mau looked down at the ground in grief but understanding. What was done could not be undone. "At least... it's over, now." Twilight said, words of assurance she hoped would ease herself as well as Selenity.

There was silence for so long that the cat feared that the Queen had slipped away, and she turned her emerald eyes to her only to see that the Queen had returned her gaze to the heavens searchingly. "For now... but it will rise again. I am no longer a fool to believe that there will be an end-all to the many forms of Chaos. I can only hope for balance... and when it arises once more, they must be prepared. Luna and Artemis will watch from a distance until needed, and only then will their past life here on the Moon be revealed."

The brown cat with the golden sheen to its fur could do nothing but stare soundlessly, trying to absorb the weight of what Selenity had said. She had hoped... all had hoped... that what had happened to Mau would never come to pass again. Yet... a similar fate destroyed the formally indestructible Moon Kingdom... and what did the future hold? She was afraid to give light to her query. It was all too much to bear. Letting her eyes refocus on the woman in front of her, she was met by a steady gaze reminiscent of the woman who was in the prime of her kingdom.

"What will you tell her, Twilight?"

The feline wasn't prepared for that either, despite the question lingering around in the depths of her mind. She didn't know. All of it was too dreadful. Duty and common sense told the Mau that she would have to report back to her own liege the extent of the damage, but the rest of her was screaming, panicking, unfocused and trembling.

There was only one thing she could tell her. The truth.

"This too, shall pass."

Queen Serenity held her gaze for only moments longer after Twilight's reply, before closing her lids in acceptance and turning her delicate head back towards the sky. "The stars are so beautiful tonight..." she whispered to herself, despite her eyes being closed. It didn't matter if she couldn't see them, she could feel them, and she knew they were there. Letting her surroundings fade away, she wished that someday her daughter would be able to enjoy peaceful nights unblemished by the scars of this life... and at least for awhile, undisturbed by any from the future. As she sent her final wish to the heavens, the crescent moon want slipped from her fingers. She never heard it drop.


	2. Episode I

**A/N:** WITS: Yep, it is one of those weird fics involving author-made senshi that _usually_ suck. Usually. I'm not even going to disguise it into anything else than what it is, lol. However, I obviously don't think mine sucks something awful, since I'm actually putting effort into rewriting it. This is for my own amusement, so positive reviews or not, this will continue however my errant muse sees fit.

Yes, "want" was supposed to be "wand". Found that after I uploaded the chapter and just said "eff it" because I'm too lazy to correct it. :P However... naïveté is correctly spelled, so I don't know what to tell you on that.

The actual BSSM cast will make an appearance, but they are not the main characters of this story, so they won't be appearing until the end.

Don't worry about leaving long reviews; the few reviews I've felt compelled to leave on stories have been twice as long, so I know how that goes. Besides, it's good to be thorough in your opinions.

* * *

Astria Benton woke up with a jolt, barely registering that the remote to her entertainment system clattered to the floor as she did so. _What the heck..._ She rubbed her eyes, dislodging the few granules of sleep from the corners and running a hand through her matted brunette bangs. Having the same dream for the past two weeks - the last two weeks of her summer vacation, no less - was getting monotonous and annoying. That sort of thing never happened to her; dreams usually came and went as errant as they were, and it was lucky if she even remembered what one of them was about. If she was superstitious at all, she'd probably take a trip down to the local psychic shop and get some sort of dream interpretation done or something of the like. But that would really put too much emphasis on something that was simply just a nuisance.

"Maybe it's life telling me that I REALLY need to stop watching Sailormoon." Astria spoke to herself, looking to her television where one of the DVDs of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon was paused. It was her own little obsession that never really disappeared with all of the other interests that faded away from her childhood, and she wasn't ashamed to admit it no matter how many weird stares she got from those she told. Someone her age watching a "cartoon" about magical girls saving the world in high heels and miniskirts? Perhaps if it was one of the more "mature" animes that were now popular amongst her age group and beyond, it would be more acceptable. But Sailormoon... even as much as Astria was in love with the series, she couldn't dispute the fact that the premise was pretty ridiculous. The manga might have been more mature, but the anime was filled with more than enough fluff... and still circling around the eyebrow-raising fact that Japanese girls with unrealistic varying appearances and endowed superpowers flail around Japan and alternate dimensions and kick all sorts of ass.

_Not to mention all of the anime conventions filled with greasy, often overweight and unfortunately male just as frequently dressed up as the Sailor Senshi._ Astria frowned and shook her head, to clear out the thoughts she conjured and the last remnants of the dream. She turned off her entertainment system, not really caring that she was in the middle of an episode. She'd seen them all enough times to memorize the series at that point, and she'd probably randomly pick up from another part in the series later. She scooted off of the edge of her sinfully plush queen sized bed (which was the reason of all of her afternoon naps, for sure) and stretched, walking and yawning to the window on the far wall. She adjusted the blinds and squinted into the glare of barely setting Atlanta sun. It was then that Astria mentally berated herself; she had almost managed to lazily sleep through her last day of summer vacation. While she didn't actually have anything in particular she wanted to do, she knew she'd find a reason to kick herself later if she lazed around and eventually came to dread her first day of high school.

Before her thoughts turned sour, the brunette walked away from the window and grabbed a brush from her dresser, pulling it through the tangled tresses that fell almost to her waist. If she took her time with her hair, then she could get it to be a wavy cascade of brown strands reminiscent of her most admired character from Sailormoon, Kino Makoto. But that took way more time than she was willing to dedicate at the moment, and only did enough to make her look less bedraggled. Pulling the mass of it up into a ponytail, the slender girl bent down to sweep her favorite sneakers off of the floor before leaving her bedroom and skipping down the carpeted flight of stairs. Hazel eyes that were frequently mistaken for green swept the hallway, looking for her mother. She eventually ended up following the noise of vegetables being chopped in the kitchen to find her.

"Hey Mom, just letting you know I'm going outside to mope away my last day of freedom!" Astria called out, pulling on one shoe at a time without bothering to undo the laces. It was a habit that her father would have made a disapproving comment on if he weren't currently at work, saying that young ladies should take the required amount of time to properly lace her shoes. She smirked at the thought as she wiggled her toes into the sneaker securely, stooping down to adjust the tongue.

Mrs. Benton smiled while never taking her eyes off of the task in front of her, both at her daughter's statement and what she was probably doing at that very moment. "That's fine, dear. Just be back in time for dinner; your father will be home soon."

"'kay. Ja ne!" She chirped, the Japanese phrase slipping into her speech, a habit absorbed from all of the Sailormoon she watched. It didn't faze either of her parents anymore, probably because a part of them hoped it would blossom into a serious attempt at learning a second language in the future.

"Oh, and honey?" The woman at the counter stopped dicing her carrots to look up at her daughter, her chocolate eyes fixing Astria with a knowing look. "Don't mope for long. It won't be as bad as you think."

Astria simply rolled her eyes and strode to the front door, letting her mother return to the dinner preparations. _Yeah, we went over THAT before._ Opening the door wide, she took in the scenery before stepping outside in the humid late-summer air of Georgia. It was almost always unbearably hot in Atlanta, but it always seemed 10 degrees warmer than it was to Astria because of how often she blasted the AC in her room. Gritting her teeth until her body became properly accustomed to the change in atmosphere, she walked down the driveway and hung a right down her block, heading for a bustling part of town that wasn't too far from her subdivision. Perhaps if there was a sale going on in one of the shops she had been eyeballing on and off all summer, then maybe the day wouldn't turn out to be a total loss.

Beginning her walk down the familiar neighborhood streets, her mind couldn't help but wander to the sucky day she was going to have tomorrow. At least, she was very much convinced that it was going to suck. It was high school, that precipice that placed a person on an awkward edge of not quite childhood, but not yet adulthood. Astria didn't know what to expect; she was used to passing her days either reading a book, chatting online with other "Moonies", as well as passing phone conversations with her friends from middle school. But now... all of that would change. Because not only did Astria start a new phase of her life the upcoming day, she had to start it in a brand new private high school.

_Private school... sick, man._ She scrunched up her petite nose at the thought of all of the snobs she would likely encounter, many of them unfortunately probably dwelling in the same subdivision as she had lived in for the past three years. She knew her parents were well off, but they weren't the type to flaunt it unlike most of the people in her neighborhood. In fact, they had lived in another part of town for most of her young life, where she went to public school and grew up amongst children whom shaped her current perceptions about what "those people" were like. Astria always considered herself apart from the society she was supposed to belong to, and prided herself on being a down-to-earth individual that was able to somehow relate and make pleasant friends with almost everyone.

Everyone except stuck-up-wannabe rich people, that is.

_And uniforms! They're so freaking ugly!_ The girl shivered and frowned deeper, thinking of the hideous outfit that was currently hanging back in her closet at home, pressed and clean and ready for tomorrow. Astria was convinced that uniforms only looked good in Japan or in anime; and even then, she never really thought much of them. Why they were fetishes among many individuals concerning school uniforms, she would never quite understand. Astria tried to follow her mother's advice and think of the entire upcoming experience in a positive light... but she honestly couldn't find any good reason why she should look forward to school. She was going to be new, she didn't know anyone, and was pretty much a recluse in her own neighborhood without realizing it. All of her friends were elsewhere, and she couldn't help but think that they wouldn't be as close as they had been up until now. It was already a strain on their relationships after Astria's family moved away from the neighborhood she REALLY called home, and now without the common thread of school keeping them together...

This was becoming too depressing for a barely 15 year old girl to be thinking about.

Cars whizzed by, whipping her hair into her face. All of her hardcore musing made the walk from her peaceful sub into the hustle and bustle of a commercial area seem like a moment. The streets were crowded with vehicles during the peak of rush hour, many of them filled with people on their way home from work much like how Astria's father would be doing soon. The stores and boutiques were bustling with last-minute summer shoppers, hoping to snag a deal or two before the seasons and the sales changed. She walked in one store and out of the other, not really seeing anything of interest. She decided that she actually just wanted to be alone to her thoughts and not around a plethora of people, so she took a detour towards a quieter part of town and wandered into a public park.

Children screamed and giggled as they played on the swings and other playground equipment in the short distance, still far enough away to blend into background noise as Astria picked a spot under a wide tree and leaned her head against the trunk, absent-mindedly hoping that she didn't pick the one ant-infested tree in the park to begin contemplations. Her ears caught the innocent playtime of kids in the breeze every so often, and she gave a half smile.

"At least they don't have to worry about high school... yet." Astria mused, flicking a blade of grass off of her jeans as she found herself pitying her predicament she couldn't escape. "Man, I'm supposed to be trying to DISTRACT myself!" She leaned over and grabbed the stem of a dandelion, looking for something to fiddle with for the time being until she was ready to return home. Glancing her hazel eyes up as she did so, she found herself unexpectedly staring into a pair of piercing green orbs.

It took her a moment to comprehend, but when she did, she let out a high pitched shriek and jerked backwards. _Wait... why the heck am I so tripped out over a cat? _ Astria examined the small feline that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and willed her heart to slow down to a normal rhythm. Surprisingly, the cat didn't scamper off at her outburst, and was still studying her intently. She didn't know why, but she didn't like how this animal's eyes seemed to bore right though her. Cats were known for being highly intelligent beings and usually did as they pleased... but... _Alright, I'm thinking too much about all of this. It's just a cat._ Bending down to cat-level, she gave it a reassuring smile. "Here, kitty! I won't hurt you, I promise. You just gave me a start." She reached out her hand to it, willing herself to be brave and praying that it wouldn't turn out to be feral and give her a reason to be rushed to the hospital for 7 rabies shots in the behind.

With a curious glint to its emerald eyes, the cat padded towards Astria in the graceful gait that comes naturally to all felines, coming to a tentative stop within comfortable reach of the girl. Pausing for a moment, Astria threw caution to the wind and reached out slowly, picking the cat up. _Wow, its fur is REALLY soft..._ she never had a cat in her presence long enough to know if she was allergic to them or not, but she figured it was worth the risk as she nuzzled her cheek gently against the creature, giggling softly. "You are SUCH the cutest thing! ... hey, what's this?" Pulling back long enough to examine the source of the cool pressure on her face, she saw that the feline had the most peculiar collar. In fact, it wasn't like any kind of collar she'd ever seen on a domesticated animal. From a delicate silver chain that was doubled to fit securely around the cat's neck, there hung a pendant that caught the sun's rays perfectly. Astria found herself cradling it gently, holding the cat in her free arm as she ran her fingers across the polished silver rim of the circular pendant. It looked as if the casing was primarily gold, and in the center a silver five-point star was etched into the surface.

_What the crap is a cat doing with this piece of jewelry? Out in PUBLIC, no less! Have the rich folks really lost it, and collars with simple name tags not enough to differentiate between their cats and the "common" ones?_ She pursed her lips and turned the pendant over in her palm, half-hoping to see a name and address listed. There was none, and Astria became even MORE baffled. What owner would leave this expensive adornment on their pet and leave it wandering around a park where ANYONE could snatch it up? The brunette shivered slightly at the images that came to her mind of what the lowest piece of scum would sink to do to a defenseless animal just for what hung around its neck.

"Your collar is pretty... umm... interesting there, little one. Even if it is kinda elegant for a cat to be wearing out here by itself." Astria studied the cat in her arms once more. "I wonder what kind of owner around here would possibly..." She blinked for a couple of moments as her train of speech drifted off, and she was overcome by the most peculiar wave of déjàvu.

_Twilight? Is this that cat that's always in that silly dream that visits me every night?_

Astria's heart almost stopped in her chest as she allowed herself a momentary lapse of insanity as she actually pondered the possibilities.

_Actually, you know what? You just need a grip, and to STOP watching so much Sailormoon! It's affecting your brain in a dangerously insane way!_ She tilted her head back and laughed out loud, the feline in her arms jerking at the sudden action. Noticing that she had disturbed the cat on accident, Astria quieted down and made little cooing apologies, smoothing the fur softly behind the cat's ears so that it might calm down. After doing this for awhile, a breeze coming every so often to their little refuge under the tree, Astria realized that she had gotten quite attached to the furry animal she accidently stumbled upon. She never really got a chance to have a pet... all of her friends had a plethora of them, so she had gotten her fill simply going from house to house and playing with them as she visited. Now... perhaps it was about time that she had a little furry companion to keep her company on the days where she would definitely need the company in the high school-filled days ahead.

She just hoped that her parents wouldn't tear her a new one for bringing a cat home.

"Well, I'll figure that out when I get to that bridge." Astria resolved out loud, standing up. Using a free hand to knock the dirt off of the seat of her pants, she made a cursory glance around the park just in case the feline DID belong to someone and they were looking for it at the moment. After a couple of minutes of surveying her surroundings, Astria's conscience was sated enough that she was able to cuddle the cat all the way back to her home. Even though she definitely didn't know enough about cats, she thought it was somewhat strange that the cat hadn't even let out a "meow" during the entire exchange, and opted for remaining very still and quiet. She was hoping that the cat wasn't ill or there was something else wrong with it. The last thing she needed was to bring home a cat, convince her parents to let her keep it... only to have to ship it off to the vet post haste. Although she supposed it needed to have a quick check up once she was given the clear...

It wasn't until Astria reached her front steps that she decided she would sneak the cat by her parents, at least for the time being. It wasn't something she wanted to tackle with her folks at the moment, and she wanted the time to herself to see if she could actually live with a cat. There really wasn't any use going through hoops if she found out later that she couldn't handle it for whatever reason. Besides... Astria wasn't particularly looking to explain what possessed her to take home a cat with a pendant that looked more expensive than the animal itself. She should at LEAST remove it to add weight to the "poor stray cat that just needed to be loved" sob story she was cooking up in her mind. Her choice settled, she quietly slipped into the front door and winced at the audible click that sounded when she tried to shut it inconspicuously.

"Astria, dear!" Her mother's voice wafted from around the corner, along with the delicious smell of stew. "How was your mope fest?"

"Ah... it's fine, Mom! I'm all moped out!" She forced herself to sound as nonchalant as possible, inching for the stairs while praying no one would round the corner and see what she was hiding. "I'm going to go upstairs and get cleaned up a bit, okay?" Before waiting for her mom to answer, she sprinted up the staircase two at a time, and quickly opened the door to her room and stepped inside.

"Made it." Astria grinned, quite proud of herself for accomplishing something that was so spur of the moment. Making sure the door was closed behind her, she opened her arms and let the cat leap out. She watched amusedly as it padded around on the floor for a moment, taking in its new surroundings in a thoughtful manner. She began to be thankful that the cat wasn't making noise; she wouldn't have known how she was going to sneak it in if it just started meowing up a storm. Astria was in the middle of taking off her shoes when she saw a brown blur leap up onto her dresser and situate itself so it was staring directly back at Astria.

"Hello, Princess Celeste."

She froze, the hair from her ponytail drooping to shield half of her face, and her right hand hooked around the back of the sneaker she had left to discard. She really wasn't sure what she had heard... and the more she thought about it, it was going to be better if she went with the LOGICAL train of thought that said that she hadn't actually heard anything at all. There was nobody in the room but her and that cat she picked up on a whim... _and cats don't talk. They do not. At least real cats didn't. There would be an entire entertainment market for felines if that were true._

Astria straightened up slowly, training her confused and a little frightful eyes on the cat perched on her dresser. It still sat there, looking firmly back at her, as if waiting for a reply. _But that would be silly, because it's not like it talked... it didn't talk..._ The more Astria engaged in the stare-fest with the feline, the more a tight ball formed in her abdomen. There was something seriously not quite right about the cat she picked up. It looked like a cat and certainly felt and MOVED like a cat... but its eyes... its eyes were...

"Did you understand me?" This time, there was no mistaking where the voice was coming from. Astria actually watched as the cat's mouth moved and shaped out the words flawlessly, further blowing up her brain processes from the haggard mess they already were. The voice itself was clear, feminine, and had a slight lilt of an accent that she could not place. _Oh my god... I'm going insane. I have heat stroke. I'm dizzy..._

Backing up ever so slightly, she let her mouth go slack as she never dared to remove her eyes from the cat as she retraced her steps to her room door. As soon as a shaking hand found its way to the doorknob, she wrenched it open and flung herself out, closing the door behind her and resting her back against the cool wooden frame. Her hazel eyes were wide and darted up and down the hallway, then down the staircase, and back again. A part of her wanted to run screaming down the stairs and proclaim to her parents that there was a talking cat in her room... but the part of her brain that still retained some sort of common sense through all of this knew that it wouldn't be in her best interests to do so. They'd either be amused, or would forbid her from ever watching Sailormoon again... which would bring her entire world crashing to her ankles. _Not like it's not already doing something like that right now..._ Astria started pinching her left arm until a good number of bruises appeared, unfortunately proving to herself that it was not a dream.

It was the dream that was the problem. The Mau that had visited the fallen Queen of the Silver Millennium, the one that Astria never remembered seeing in all of her countless times of watching and re-watching the entire Sailormoon animated series, had somehow manifested in reality and was calling her... ah, she had forgotten what that cat had addressed her as. "Who the heck brings home that ONE cat that's not what it seems to be, huh?" Astria whispered incredulously to herself, wiping her bangs off of her forehead in a nervous habit. _Wait, maybe this is one big trick, and someone's throwing their voice to make me THINK that... well... that's retarded, because nobody I know would do something like that..._

Taking more than a few deep breaths, she gathered up what was left of her sanity and turned back towards her bedroom door. Squaring her shoulders, she opened it and stepped inside once more, firmly closing and locking it behind her, and tried her best to suspiciously stare down the cat she was feverently trying_ not_ to label as Twilight in her mind.

"Alright, look. I know you can't talk. YOU know you can't talk. Anyone on the street, anyone in the WORLD would agree that cats can't talk. This includes all the crazies in Japan who have no problem drawing talking cats in their cartoons or in their stories. If anything, this is telling me for SURE now that I watch too much anime, and I need to go on a Sailormoon diet." Without realizing it, Astria had stepped forward with each passing word that left her lips, and was now face to face with the cat. A moment passed, just long enough for her to feel ridiculously silly for scolding a cat that supposedly couldn't talk. It's not the animal's fault that she was losing her mind. Clearing her throat, Astria took a couple of steps back and scratched her head, trying not to feel so foolish.

"Those 'crazies' in Japan have a better idea of what is going on than the rest of the world gives credit for, if I do say so myself." The cat calmly replied. "Yes, I can talk, and I am your guardian feline, Twilight. I've been searching for you for some time, and have looked over you from a distance. But you can no longer be allowed to live your life in ignorance, Celeste, no matter how blissful this life may be. It is time you knew the truth."

Astria simply gaped, the words reaching her ears but her brain adamantly protesting against the situation's impossibility. Tsking in dismay, Twilight shook her furry head. "It would do us both well for you to cease gaping. Not only is it unattractive, it does not make this any easier for you to understand. Would you mind taking a seat on your bed, please?"

Not really knowing what else to do, she managed to nod her head slightly and perch herself on the edge of her bed, arguably the farthest place from Twilight. Things were definitely going in a direction she wasn't sure that she liked at all. Not to mention it was still heavily improbable. While she tried to get her mind working at a proper speed once more, she had sat too much on the edge of the mattress, which caused her to slip off and crash noisily on the floor.

Twilight lifted a paw and actually face palmed at Astria's bout of clumsiness and prayed to the Gods that this was not a regular occurrence. "And Luna said she had it bad trying to train Usagi..." she muttered, causing the girl on the floor to stand bolt upright at an alarming speed.

"USAGI'S REAL?!?!!" She exclaimed, then clamped her hand over her mouth and glanced worriedly at the still closed door of her room. The last thing she needed was one of her parents asking if she was alright and who she was talking to. Also, she mentally began berating herself. _What am I doing, buying into this mess that quick? I still have no idea what's going on._ But all of her mental protests to not believe what was going on in front of her were beginning to subside. It was almost as if a part of her already expected... no, already _knew_ who and what the cat was. But _that's freaking impossible! I don't care how many dreams I had with this stupid cat in it, this is just INSANE!!_ Astria just barely managed to keep her hands from flying to her hair and pulling at it in frustration. _I've got to get a grip. Even if that grip isn't on what I think is reality, I can't lose it. Gotta keep calm._

Twilight examined the girl in front of her, a surge of pity overtaking her for a moment. _She's so far from the young lady she once was... but she had no way of knowing the life she once held. This world, this time, was no place for royalty such as herself. _ But what was done could not be undone. "Yes, Tsukino Usagi is real, and so are the rest of the Sailor Senshi."

Astria shook her head in disbelief, her eyes clearing of most of the panic that was in them before. "Oh, my lord... okay... okay." Taking her hands, she rubbed them vigorously over her face to try and prepare herself for whatever she might hear. "Alright. You keep calling me Celeste. It's a pretty name, but... it's not mine."

"It is yours, more truly yours than this Astria you have adopted in this time." Twilight told her gently. "You are Princess Celeste Epouran Asteri, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Staria."

Astria just stared at her blankly. "So... let me guess. This is my new life that I got born into for some greater purpose that I'm just now going to find out, thanks to you, my newly acquired kitty guardian. That pendant around your throat is going to be my magical brooch to transform into a beautiful sailor soldier, or senshi, whatever you want to call it, and I'm going to run around leading a double life kicking all sorts of demon butt while hiding this fact from my parents... and the media. Oh, and I probably have fellow soldiers that I have find, too. Am I getting all of this right so far?" She rambled all of that off in an almost bored, sarcastic tone. She figured if she was going to go crazy, might as well accurately predict what will happen next.

Twilight blinked for a moment, then chuckled lightly, a musical noise rising from her petite throat. "You are quite familiar with the fictional happenings of the anime Sailormoon, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! They don't call us "Moonies" for nothing!" Astria shot back, for the first time defensive over knowing so much about her beloved anime. "But that's also not fair, answering my question with a question. Am I right, or am I wrong?"

Clearing her throat, Twilight jumped off of the dresser and walked up to sit on the floor in front of her. "Your basis is correct, if not slightly skewed. The animation, from what I have seen of it, is highly embellished in many areas, however not completely on accident. The Gods have their way of getting certain messages across without making it too obvious to the general public."

Astria raised an eyebrow, not completely grasping what the cat was implying. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning, there is truth underneath a guise of fiction." Twilight explained, slightly exasperated simply because of the complicated answer Astria didn't even know she was asking for. "You cannot take the animation or the manga as absolute truth. As I have said, yes, Usagi and the other senshi exist. However, in their civilian forms, they are very much your ordinary Japanese girls. Usagi's hair is never worn in the traditional style all of the time, only after her transformation. Then and only then does it take on its light coloring from her past life, as well. Likewise, Kaiou Michiru's aquamarine locks do not surface unless she is as Sailor Neptune." The cat tapped her paw to her forehead. "Have you taken pause to realize that I do not walk around with such a conspicuous mark on my brow as Luna and Artemis are made to seem in this anime? Our birth marks are glamour, not tangible. Back in the days of the Silver Millennium and prior, these marks were common. In this time on this world, it would be foolish to expose ourselves in such a manner."

Astria nodded, her brain almost falling in on itself as she tried to wrap it around everything at once. "So... I suppose that makes sense... I think. It really wouldn't make sense for a Japanese girl to be born with blonde hair and blue eyes, huh?"

"No, it wouldn't. However, Aino Minako is the only non-Japanese of the Inner Senshi. She was born and raised in London, and found herself with her comrades in Japan later. So, in that case, her Western appearance is explainable and expected."

"Oh, seriously? So...she doesn't suck at English then, huh?"

"No, of course not. She is actually quite an intelligent woman, fit for being the leader of the senshi."

"That's... um... wow, alright." Astria thought for a moment. "Okay, so you said the only non-Japanese member of the Inners. Is there anyone not Japanese of the Outer Senshi?"

The feline nodded. "Technically, Sailor Pluto is not Japanese. She was never reborn. In the rare instances in which she must leave her post at the Gate of Time, she simply takes the alias of Meiou Setsuna. Does that make sense?"

Astria nodded again, too excited and immersed in this new information to worry about the fact that she was still having a conversation with a talking cat. There were so many questions she just wanted to ask about her favorite fandom that was just revealed to be more than what it seemed. She opened her mouth to rattle off the next question when she noticed that Twilight was managing to detangle the pendant from her scruff. "Oh... do you need help with that?"

"Yes, please." Once Astria had undone the clasp and easily slipped it from Twilight's neck, she held it in one palm and glanced down at her proclaimed guardian curiously.

Noting her cue, she nodded. "That pendant is your transformation device."

"I figured." She looked down at the adornment critically. "Alright, tell me something. Why do I have to transform? It's just an outfit, right? And PLEASE tell me I don't have to twirl around and do insane acrobatic stunts in order to become fully clothed."

Letting out another laugh, Twilight shook her head. "No. Thankfully, transformations are less flashy and a lot more practical than what you have seen." Her tone became a tad more serious. "Transformation is the key to endowing the magic into your being. It is even more crucial now, since in this form you are helpless to any psychic or magical attacks. You are also shut off from the power that is rightfully your own. In the senshi's fuku, spells older than human life itself are woven into every inch, molded to the chosen carrier. It was meant for battle and offers the utmost protection."

Astria couldn't help but let out a snort at that. "Miniskirts are the utmost protection? I fail to see how that's gonna save my butt in a fight with a youma, but whatever." She glanced back down at the pendant in her palm, curiosity leaking over her being. "So... uh... how do I... ya know?"

"Shout 'Celestial Star Power, Make Up!' " Twilight offered, causing Astria to make a strange noise between excitement and incredulous surprise.

"Seriously? It's like that? Oh man... I feel giddy but embarrassed at the same time, since I know what this is going to sound like..." Becoming nervous, she looked back down at Twilight. "Do I _have_ to shout it? I mean... my parents know my obsession with Sailormoon is pretty thick, but I haven't resorted to calling out transformation phrases in at least 5 years."

Frowning a bit, Twilight furrowed her kitty brows. "It is... usually the first step in training a beginner in the arts of the Senshi. Shouting your transformation phrase isn't necessary; in fact, utterance of the transformational phrase is not needed once a senshi reaches true harmony with her duty and her powers. However, the reason the phrase exists is to help firmly implant the belief in your mind that you can and WILL transform. It is an anchor, a tool used to open the mind to the power and abilities you will be receiving upon your transformation. Once the pathway is clear, you will find you no longer need to say anything, but simply focus your intent on becoming a senshi. But for now... this phrase is very important in order for this to succeed. You must believe in it, in your heart... otherwise, this phrase is meaningless, and nothing will occur."

The brunette absorbed all of Twilight's words seriously, nervous butterflies rustling in her stomach. It made sense... it made TOO much sense, actually. How can one be a soldier if they never believed it was possible to begin with? She couldn't doubt... and her decision would be made if she did this correctly. She couldn't think of how insane it was for all of this to come about in the first place. She couldn't even think of her parents downstairs, probably setting the table at the moment, or the first day of high school that she was dreading ever since she found out about it. There was only the decision to believe or not to believe, and only she could stand at the crossroads.

_Alright._ Ceasing her thoughts, she raised her hand above her head, holding the pendant aloft. The delicate silver chain hung about her arm, swaying ever so slightly in her movements. "CELESTIAL STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"


	3. Episode II

**A/N:** I don't know why I'm naming these things Episodes. I don't think it's in that much of a linear fashion anymore, lol. In fact, this story is pretty much going in almost a completely different arc than the original, and I didn't even plan it that way. I don't think it's necessarily a BAD change, it's just... I almost don't quite know where I'm going with it until I write it. But ya know, that's how _Severed Reality_ got made, so I shouldn't be too concerned, and just go with the flow.

* * *

Opening her eyes, the first thing Astria did was look at her hand. The blinding light that enveloped her shortly after uttering the phrase had caused her to gasp in shock and squeeze her lids shut. The warm tingle, much like how a limb feels when it has fallen asleep, had died down along with the light at that point, and she really thought that she had been holding the pendant fairly tightly. But her visuals confirmed that it was indeed gone... and that her hands and arms were sheathed in white gloves.

_Oh, my god..._ Rushing out to the hall mirror without heed to the possibility of being seen by her parents in such a getup, Sailor Star caught the first glimpse of herself in all of her senshi glory.

The skirt was triple layered, with the most visible layer being a deep magenta. The others that followed were a golden yellow, and royal purple respectively. At the place where the white bodice met at the front of her skirt, a star was placed, looking almost too delicate to be on the uniform of a soldier. The location of the "missing" pendant was at the center of the bow on the front of her chest, which was the same color purple as the bottom tier of her skirt. Her hair was held up in a high ponytail atop her head, fastened in place with the same star motif as on her fuku. Turning around on magenta hued ankle strap heels that were reminiscent of those that Sailor Venus wore, she examined the back of the outfit as best as she could in the full length mirror. Instead of the classic large bow at the rear, thin yellow ribbons were knotted gracefully and left to hang loosely almost to the ground. Where the magenta sailor's collar graced her shoulders, there was a purple choker circling her neck.

"Man, do I feel like an Eternal Sailor Moon reject..." Sailor Star griped softly. "But at least I didn't get those hideous pink bubble gum shoulder pads." She stared at her reflection in the mirror, more in undisguised wonder than disbelief. She had come too far at that point to continue being in denial about anything, so the only thing she had to do was keep going forward. Star shifted from foot to foot experimentally, trying to gauge how different she felt. Much to her surprise, the entire fuku was comfortable, and of course, allowed for plenty of movement. Even her shoes, for all that they looked like fancy dress wear, were somehow just as comfortable as her worn pair of sneakers. Stilling herself, she became aware of a faint vibration that traveled throughout her body. It was barely noticeable and steady, and not quite enough to be a distraction... but it was testament to the magic that was activated and most probably currently running through her very veins.

_This is almost too much to fathom... I feel almost strangely wound up, ready to go..._ Sailor Star stared into her reflection's eyes, oddly comforted by the fact that Astria's eyes still looked back at her. No matter who Twilight said she was in a past life, she only knew herself as Astria Benton, a 15 year old girl that would unfortunately start her first day of high school tomorrow. _Well, that just brought down my high._ Sighing to herself, she almost missed an important addition to her forehead, which caused her to gasp and almost press her nose against the mirror to examine it as closely as she most possibly could.

As clear as day, a star shaped mark on her head was placed. It appeared to be made out of nothing but pure light, with just a slight touch of a golden hue. It cast no shadows and appeared to be lit from within, yet at the same time not at all. It did not disturb no matter how many ridiculous expressions Sailor Star made that contorted her facial features in various ways, which only made her more weirded out. _I guess this was the birthmark that Twilight was talking about... I know why they chose to keep something like this hidden, then. This is just TOO trippy._ Peeling herself away from the mirror, she slipped back into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"So, uh... Twilight?" Sailor Star began. "Do I have any special thingy-ma-jigs?"

That met her with a blank stare from the cat. "You mean, weapons?" Twilight clarified, inwardly sighing at how much ground she was going to have to cover with the reincarnated Princess of Staria. "Well, there is your Star Glaive..."

"GLAIVE?" Star exclaimed, her eyes widening to nearly the size of saucers. "We're talking like... Sailor Saturn type arsenal?" She paused and frowned, blinking down at Twilight. "... how do you expect to flip in mid-air and produce something that large?"

_Yes. Lots of ground to cover._ "The weapon is your own, and is always with you in Senshi form. Learn to call it to your hand by feeling it out with your mind and pulling it to you."

"So... putting it simply, this is my interdimensional sub-space pocket that solves all of the unsolved mysteries as to just where Sailor Moon pulls out her gadgets whenever she needs them most." Nodding, mostly to herself, Star closed her eyes then and tried her hand at calling her tool to her outstretched palm, shutting out all other thought. She fashioned a general image of Sailor Saturn's prized weapon to her mind, not really having anything else to go off of. For a moment, she was afraid that she had failed, but when she felt the weight of the weapon in her hand shortly thereafter, she had to keep herself from jumping for joy. There was something inexplicably satisfying in succeeding in the smallest of tasks on her very new road at being a Sailor Senshi.

Opening her eyes, a long black staff greeted her, cool to the touch and intricately designed with various symbols and niches that Sailor Star couldn't hope to make out the significance of. The staff reached from her shoulder to the floor, weighted down by a large silver blade that looked like it formed a curved, circular and slightly lopsided V. Star cautiously ran her gloved fingertips down the weapon that by all intensive purposes should have been heavier than what it actually felt like in her hands. She caught her reflection in the gleaming surface of the blade, absently wondering what material it was fashioned out of. It was honed like metal, but shone like silver and reflected the light like the smoothest of glass... but she could definitely garner a guess that it was made out of some virtually indestructible material that likely didn't exist on Earth.

"What's this?" Sailor Star's eyes found a glowing yellowish stone resting atop the base of the staff, nestled within the curve of the blade in a way that reminded her of how Sailor Moon held her Silver Crystal in her Crescent Wand. But instead of looking like it was pristinely cut and shaped to perfection, the glowing stone that was in front of her was more of a crude, raw shape. Like the large chunks of minerals and natural stones unearthed from caves to be put on display in museums and such, it was more rounded in places, jagged in others, and was lit from the inside by some unknown source. The more Sailor Star gazed at it, she realized that the stone was pulsating slightly to her heartbeat.

"That, is your Star Crystal." Twilight informed her. "As you might have already gathered, it is just as important and vital to you as Princess Serenity's Silver Crystal. Your lifeline is connected to its power, and you are the sole conduit of its power. Think of it as a reservoir for all of the energy your body cannot hold. However, keeping that in mind, do not use it unwisely, for an uncontrolled surge of pure power from its core can burn through an unfocused mind and body. Yes, I do mean that quite literally." The guardian feline added, making Sailor Star's face turn a visible shade paler.

"What... then how do you expect me to use it, then?!" She all but shrieked, remembering at the last moment to keep her voice controlled so that her parents wouldn't be concerned. Star held her Glaive with the Star Crystal attached at arms length now, eyeballing it as if it would explode if it was too close. "It doesn't leave me much room for trial and error, does it? From what you just told me, I have one chance and then I'm burnt up into ashes!"

"Patience, Celeste. That is why I am here. I will help you learn to properly control it to the best of my ability."

"Ah..." Was all Sailor Star could say, engrossed in her thoughts again. She was slowly starting to realize that for all of the questions and former excitement she held about uncovering all about the Sailor Senshi she had grown up admiring when she thought that they were simply fictional heroines, she had completely forgotten about the questions she SHOULD have been asking. Such as why she had to be standing there, in the center of her bedroom, wearing a sailor fuku and holding an intimidating weapon in the first place.

"Why did you tell me all of this? Why am I only stumbling upon all of this now, if you've always been watching over me?" Star questioned, looking back at the cat she originally thought was just a stray.

_Ah, yes... the moment of truth._ Twilight hesitated, not wanting to truly destroy this girl's life, her innocence. Even though it was unavoidable now, the feline felt uncomfortable revealing the information that the girl in front of her deserved to know.

"Honey!" A voice drifted up the stairs, cutting off any further conversation between the cat and the girl. "Dinner's ready!"

"Coming!" Sailor Star scurried to her door and whipped it open, completely leaving the subject to drop for the moment. A part of her wanted to know the answer right then, but half of her was apprehensive, especially after the pause Twilight had before deciding to say anything. _Man... if Twilight can't tell me why... then I'm not sure I really want to know._

"Ahem." Twilight cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Star's current attire.

"... oh. Yeah, that'd be pretty awkward, now wouldn't it?" Touching her pendant at her chest, she willed the transformation to dissipate, leaving her in the jeans and T-shirt she had been wearing all day. The feeling was almost like someone swept a thin sheet off of her body, not leaving her bare, yet definitely giving Astria a feeling of emptiness that she couldn't quite explain. She hadn't realized, even within the short time that she was transformed, how much she had gotten used to being powered up. Examining the pendant in her palm once more, she undid the clasp on the chain and hooked it securely around her neck. The star fell to a comfortable position inches below her collarbones, resting its cool surface against her skin.

"That's better. You must be careful to not be careless in your-" Another lecture from the brown cat was cut off as Astria swept Twilight into her arms, ignoring her startled mew of protest.

"Hey, now, don't give me any crap!" Astria winked, starting to walk down the stairs with the cat in her arms. "If you're going to be my kitty guardian, then I'm going to have to ask Mom and Dad for permission to keep you. So, try to remember how a real cat behaves, don't do anything too suspicious, and of course... let me do all the talking." She stepped into the kitchen then, looking up from her one-sided conversation with the animal to the confused stares of her parents.

Her father was the first to raise an eyebrow, the hazel eyes he shared with his daughter widening in surprise. "Astria... is that a cat?"

Grinning sheepishly, she nodded. "Look what I found today!" She held out Twilight as if it were a grand prize, and the cat just barely managed to suppress a sigh and attempt to look as cute as possible towards the humans that were scrutinizing her at the moment. _This girl is lacking much needed diplomatic skills, I am sure._

Mrs. Benton set down a freshly made casserole onto the table, placing the oven mitts on either side of the dish before straightening up to look at her daughter and the "prize" she was holding out. "It's cute, honey... but... what on earth brought this on?"

"Well, um... I was in the park today and it was lost and it looked so cute and it didn't look like it had a home but that doesn't mean that it has rabies or anything because it's not rabid or foaming at the mouth so it's safe at least I think so and I brought it home because it was so cute and cuddly and soft and I couldn't leave it out there alone-"

"Astria, slow DOWN for a moment, will ya?" Mr. Benton leaned forward in his chair, unable to hide an amused twinkle in his eyes at what a horrible job his only daughter was doing at trying to sell him and his wife on letting her keep the cat. "So, you brought home a cat. Do you know how much care and responsibility goes into caring for another living being?" His expression grew serious, but not intimidating. "While it is true that you've spent a lot of time around your friends' pets, visiting them and owning one are two completely different things. This is a life you have to nourish properly."

_So... does that mean I'm going to be allowed to keep it?_ Astria wanted to blurt out, knowing that if she did it would completely blow her chances at actually keeping Twilight. But she tried her best not to let her impatience show; she couldn't look too overly eager. _But if this is going to be my guardian cat, it's gotta stay here. I'm sure Usagi wasn't denied Luna by some cruel twist of fate..._ "I know, Dad... that's why I wanted to wait until I was sure that I was ready to take care of one myself. I know this came out of nowhere-"

"That it did." Mrs. Benton interjected, blinking at the cat. "And right before the new school semester starts, no less. Dear, don't you think you might be putting too much on your plate at once? I know I advised you to keep your head up about this new experience, but I wasn't expecting-"

_Like I was expecting this to happen, either!_ Astria wanted to shout, but swallowed the misdirected protest before it totally ruined her chances at keeping the feline. "I know, I know... but... it was the only thing that really cheered me up all day." She said, not actually straying too far from the truth. "As silly as it may sound... it's almost as if I was meant to find this cat. It helped me see the brighter side of things when all I could think about was how much tomorrow is going to suck." She pulled the cat into her chest and gave it a small squeeze, and it responded by giving Astria an audible purr. "So, I really do want to keep it. It'll be my little furry companion... and teach me how to be responsible, and keep my head up."

Her parents exchanged a contemplative glance. "It looks like you've really got your heart set on this, Astria." Her mother finally spoke, watching how well her daughter and her newfound friend seemed to mesh. "And at this point, I think it'd be rather cruel to the kitty to separate it from you, since I think it's become quite attached already." She sat down at the table, pushing a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear and looking to her husband again. "John?"

Mr. Benton found himself caught between the slightly questioning eyes of his wife and the puppy dog eyes of his daughter, and lifted his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright!" He conceded, laughing a bit. "I know when I'm beat." He shortly thereafter found himself smothered by Astria, squealing happily into his shoulder and the newest member of the Benton family caught between them pitifully. "Whoa there, you might scare the little guy off before he gets a chance to even settle in here!"

"It's not a guy, Dad. Her name is Twilight." Astria said in a matter-of-a-fact tone, scooting her chair back and sitting down at the table, plopping Twilight in her lap.

"Oh, so you've named it already? I'm beginning to think I was set up." Mr. Benton said, reaching for the casserole dish.

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it?" His wife said, winking at him before sitting down herself. Turning to address her daughter, she said, "Regardless, we're going to have to find it a vet and set up an appointment. It looks magnificently clean for a stray, but it's better to be safe than sorry. At the very least, she should be protected against anything she might get in the future. Have you decided on whether or not she's going to be a house cat or an outdoor cat?"

Feeling Twilight tense from her position halfway under the table, Astria gave a nonchalant shrug. "Well, seeing as though I found Twilight in the park, I think it'd be best if I let her keep her freedom. It'd mean more shots at the vet..." She fought a grin as Twilight became even more tense, and amused herself with how unhappy she must be at that very moment. "But I wouldn't want her locked up in a strange house all the time."

After scooping a piece of the delicious casserole on her plate, Mr. Benton raised his eyebrow again. "That's thoughtful of you, but aren't you afraid that Twilight will run off and not return? She's only just gotten familiar with you. She might choose her freedom over the rest of us."

"No... I think Twilight's going to stick around for the long run." Astria replied mysteriously, rubbing the top of the guardian's head before picking up her fork and knife and digging into her meal. "Don't have to worry about much where that's concerned."

The rest of the dinner passed in relaxed conversation, and after it was finished Astria gave both of her parents another hug in thanks and went upstairs to her room to get an early start on tomorrow. As she stood in front of her dresser mirror and brushed out her long, brown hair in her pajamas, her eyes drifted to the pendant that hung around her neck. Strangely enough, she had almost forgotten it was there, like she had always worn it. _But I guess if I'm going to be transforming into a superhero in a miniskirt, it's good to be familiar with it sooner rather than later._ Placing her brush on the dresser, she grabbed a ponytail holder and fastened her hair at the nape of her neck before beginning to braid the mass for bed. "Hey... Twilight?"

"Yes, Celeste?"

Astria winced. "Well, for one, could you call me Astria? I know that's the life I used to live and all, but it's a bit weird responding to it. I don't... really have any memory of my past life and all of this is really new to me... so I feel like we're different people, if that makes sense."

A sigh came from the feline. "Alright... Astria. This is strange for me to make this adjustment, but I understand." _At least until you come back into your true self._

Astria let out her own sigh, only of relief. She felt as if there was a lot of weight lifted off of her shoulders, just with a change in the form of address. "Thanks. So... what..." She zoned out for a moment, trying to regain her train of thought. "Oh yeah! Why am I here, again?"

"You're here because you wanted to be with Serenity." Twilight said simply, the end of her sentence left up in the air.

"What? That's it? So... wait. The battle with Beryl and such really did happen back in the Silver Millennium, right?" Astria asked, flopping ungracefully onto her bed and almost uprooting Twilight in the process. "Where was I during all of that? Was I on the Moon?"

Regaining her seated position on the mattress, Twilight shook her head. "No. We were in the system your mother ruled, Staria. I assume you're familiar with the Starlights?" Seeing Astria's hyper-excited nod, she continued. "Not every system is made out of organized and large planets such as the system you live in now. In fact, the one that Queen Serenity ruled during the Silver Millennium was one of its kind. Most systems, for as large as the universe is, have perhaps one or two planets within their reaches. In the case that your mother was one of the chosen Celestials and thus wielded a Legendary Crystal, many of the smaller systems that were comprised of a majority of stars and few planets bonded together to become a conglomerate assembly that answered to Queen Asteri. The Starlights and their Princess belong to one of those planets."

"Ah..." Astria's head spun with all of the questions she wanted to ask, like where were the Starlights now, the entire Galaxia saga and whether or not that actually happened, and so many other things. To a supreme Sailormoon addict, it was like Astria had her own encyclopedia of events at her fingertips. _Gah... remember not to get carried away. At least not all at once._ "So I was on my home planet... or whatever. And I guess I can assume that I wasn't a part of the battle on the Moon. So I just, like, asked my Mom if I could be reborn with Princess Serenity on Earth after the Dark Kingdom trashed it?"

Twilight hesitated. "Not exactly."

The brunette rolled over and scrutinized Twilight as best as she could, which wasn't that intimidating coming from her. "There's that pause again. Don't think I didn't catch it last time I tried to ask you this, too! I'm smarter than I look, you know. Spill the beans!"

"... Upon finding of Serenity's death, you grew hysterical, and stole the Star Crystal from its safe place in the castle and transported yourself to the future on Earth."

Her heart stopped beating. Or at least, Astria was sure it skipped more than a few beats than was healthy. "I did WHAT?!" She yelped.

"Astria? What's wrong?" Mrs. Benton's voice drifted through the closed door.

"Umm... nothing, Mom! Just uh... dropped something on the floor and it almost broke one of my Sailormoon DVD's!" Astria offered, glad that her mother didn't open the door and see the wince that has come across her face at ridiculous lie she had come up with to deter her parental unit.

"Be careful, hon. And remember to set your alarm for the morning!" Her mother's reminded her before continuing her way down to the master bedroom to turn in for the night.

Astria breathed out another large sigh of relief when she heard a door down the hall close and she turned her attention back to Twilight. "I should, um, really keep my voice down. But you're telling me I hijacked a crystal and ran off with it to Earth? Was I mentally unstable or something? Why in the HECK don't I remember this? I mean, that should be something I'd remember."

"I am inclined to agree, but that does not seem to be the case at the moment." Twilight shifted, lying on her paws. "Nevertheless, I shall give you a brief back story of the days leading up to that fateful moment that destroyed the Moon Kingdom. The Dark Kingdom, and many of the other enemies that had risen and fallen in the past and well as the future, are all different manifestations of Chaos. Chaos is needed to maintain balance for existence as a whole, but in instances all throughout history, Chaos tries and will continue to try to gain full control. It is its nature, and is uncontrollable and unfathomable in its raw form. But I digress." She cleared her throat. "Many systems that day were attacked by the Dark Kingdom. Beryl's main objective might have been rooted in a personal vendetta against the Moon Kingdom, but she was not a fool. The attack was carefully planned in that every nearby system that could have been sent to foil the plot was tied up with battles, while the main war was taking place on the Moon. Our system was no different.

It is hard to say who won those battles. They were so perfectly staged, and it was easy to see, but we could do nothing lest we risk leaving ourselves vulnerable. Our casualties and damage was nothing like what occurred on the Moon, but we had no way of knowing why we were being distracted. It happened too quickly. When the armies died down, I was immediately dispatched to observe the status of the Moon Kingdom, since all communication attempts at contacting the Royal family were failing."

"And that's when you found Queen Selenity, right?" Astria asked, already seeing where the story was headed. "I've been... having dreams for the past couple of weeks. Or, I guess I should say just the same dream nights in a row. I think it was of the final moments just before she passed away." She paused for a moment, thinking back on the details. "... was the person the Queen was referring to... me, or should I say Princess Celeste? What DID you end up telling her?"

Twilight sighed, a weary shadow passing over her features. "I only fully got to inform the Queen before you burst into the royal quarters, demanding to know what had happened to Serenity. I am not sure why you asked, though... I had the feeling that you already had heard what had transpired, because you took one look at our faces and dashed out." Her emerald eyes glanced over Astria for a moment. "You and Serenity were very close. She did not have such a close bond with her court as she does now, so the two of you were each other's confidants. I believe you also knew of the Princess' feelings for the Earth Prince Endymion before anyone else, and actually encouraged further relations with him." Twilight chuckled for a bit, remembering. "Venus and Mars were not pleased."

Astria sat with her chin propped up on her elbows, soaking all of the information in like a sponge. It was strange learning of a life that was supposed to be hers, that was so important and intrinsic to her being where she was at that very moment... but not remembering a thing and having it narrated for her like an ethereal fairytale. On one hand, it was exciting, and on the other... she felt out of place with a strange sense that she was uncovering something she wasn't sure she was ready for. _No, scratch that... I KNOW I'm not ready for this. But I can't turn back now._ "That's pretty interesting. So... do I have a court of my own?"

"Yes, you do... although not quite in the traditional sense. You were a princess who was well trained in all of the arts, ranging from academia, to musical, and also the martial arts. I'm sure it must seem passing strange that a Princess receives a Glaive as her form of defense, but you were not the type to be satisfied being guarded. You were intent on being able to hold your own, and you did so quite well. Your guardians were more of a formality than a necessity, and you trained and fought together as was allowed."

"Man..." Astria turned over on her back, grabbing the edge of the covers and slipping underneath them, reveling in the cool fabric sliding over her body. "I have some large shoes to fill. I hope you won't be too disappointed when I don't meet those requirements, Twilight." She reached up and behind her, slapping the light switch on the wall conveniently placed right beside her headboard. "Thanks for filling me on that, though. It doesn't answer everything... but it's all my poor brain can handle right now. So, I'll just pretend the only thing I have to look forward to is high school tomorrow."

The brown cat smiled slightly and settled down on the bed next to Astria, closing her eyes. "Yes, tomorrow's another day."

Silence swept through the bedroom shortly after that last statement, the only sound the low hum of the air conditioning unit in the opposite corner of the room. Faint rays of moonlight filtered in the slits of the blinds that Astria had forgotten to shut since late that afternoon, but none of that bothered the two occupants winding down for the evening.

"... hey, Twilight?"

"Yes, Astria?"

"So... these guardians of mine... are they in this time, too?"

A sigh. "Yes. We shall have to seek them out and awaken them. But I was going to save that subject for tomorrow."

"... aww, man."

"Goodnight, Astria."


	4. Episode III

Astria glanced over herself in the mirror in the hallway outside of her room before placing her hands on her waist and sighing. "Yep. Today is going to suck." If she didn't know before, she certainly felt it was obvious now, just looking at her reflection and what she considered to be the highest atrocity adorning her body at that moment.

She had on a starched, white short sleeved blouse, complete with a tiny plaid tie at the collar, simple in its layout and rested lightly against the upper part of her chest. The matching dark skirt was crisscrossed in white, navy blue and forest green plaid and rested just above her knees. The lower half of her body was sheathed in white knee high socks with a lone green stripe at the top, with her feet wearing plain brown loafers. In all reality, there were worse uniforms than the one DeCastis High required of its students, but Astria certainly preferred not having to wear one at all.

And while she was dreaming, she certainly would prefer not having to go to school at all. She would have been perfectly content to sleep in past noon as she was prone to do for the entire summer, and sometime when she decided to regain consciousness watch more Sailormoon. _Wait, I don't have to do that anymore! I have my own talking cat that I get to drill for the secrets of the Sailormoon universe!_ Astria brightened over that, although a thought that closely followed made her grin falter on her face. Underneath the stiff collar of her uniform, she could make out the silver of the necklace that held the magical pendant that allowed her to transform into Sailor Star. There were still so many questions that she had to ask... yet kept forgetting in favor of other things that didn't apply to her being a Sailor Senshi. Not to mention that a part of her brain, albeit tucked away safely in its depths, was seriously doubting that all of this was actually real. Every time Astria thought back on the events of the last afternoon, her head would spin and she'd make herself think about something else. Unfortunately, high school wasn't much of an appealing option to focus her energy on, despite it being the most immediate event in her life that morning.

"Why are you still here?" Twilight's voice sang from a small crack in the bedroom that belonged to the newly christened high school student. Astria shook off the cobwebs of her thoughts and looked down at the feline that had stuck her head curiously out of the doorway and was peering back up at her. "Right now, don't you have 5 minutes to get to school?"

Astria blinked at her for a moment before her hazel eyes widened and she checked her wristwatch quickly. "What? Where the heck did the time go! I could have sworn it was only 7:15!"

"It was... twenty minutes ago." Twilight answered plainly, increasing the panic in the brunette's gaze. "How much time did you spend peering at yourself in that mirror?"

"I dunno! I just know it didn't feel like twenty minutes!" Astria retorted, stepping over Twilight as she rushed back into her room to gather her schoolbag and last minute things that she felt she could throw haphazardly into its depths. "God, I'm going to be late for my first day of snob school. That'll give something for them to talk about, wouldn't it?" She checked her watch again and tsked. "Well, in any case... I guess I'm going to have to pull a Usagi in order to make it to class on time, as long as I leave right this minute."

Twilight blinked at her a couple of times before comprehending the meaning of that statement. "Oh. Well, in that case, you should get there in plenty of time." A sly look passed over the cat's face. "That is, if you don't cause an accident on the way there."

Deciding to ignore the snide remark, Astria galloped down the flights of stairs, rushing past the kitchen where her mother was putting a plate of blueberry muffins on the counter. "MOM, I'M GONE!"

"Without breakfast?" Mrs. Benton called out, returning to the sink with a smile.

Footsteps stopped just shy of reaching the front door before they resounded back to the kitchen and paused just long enough for Mrs. Benton to know that Astria had snagged at least one muffin off of the plate. "IMMMFF GNFF NFFF!"

A few minutes later, a couple of the neighbors who were also up and about for whatever reason at that time in the morning was able to see a young girl fly out of the front door of a house with a muffin in her teeth. She paused long enough to readjust the strap of her messenger bag before darting quickly across the lawn - something that was generally frowned upon in her division - and sprinting down the sidewalk at an alarming pace. To Astria's benefit, she knew exactly how to "pull a Usagi", as she had coined it. Back in her much more obsessive days, she had literally practiced sprinting to school even if she wasn't anywhere near late, just to get her stamina up to what she thought the Bunny of the Moon must have had in order to get to school in the anime. Astria supposed it was just her luck, or lack thereof, that she would find herself in the position to actually put those "skills" to use.

DeCastis High was not too far from her house, and was actually near the center of her rather large neighborhood. The school itself still looked as new as it once did when it was built, with glistening hallways and the windowpanes that reflected the light of the sun in a pleasing manner. The red brick that served as the motif for the outer design of the complex made the high school stand out amongst the rolling green lawns that surrounded it, along with the carefully and artfully placed floral arrangements that added color and life to the scene. The school's motto, "Compos mentis" framed the main entrance, delicately embroidered with the school colors of green and blue, but even if Astria cared or knew enough about Latin in the first place she wouldn't have taken pause to admire it. She had more pressing matters to attend to; like getting to her first class of the day without a tardy mark in the attendance books.

"Alright, where to next?" Astria breathed after removing the almost forgotten blueberry muffin from her lips and taking a crumpled piece of paper out of her bag, turning it about so she could decipher what was written on her schedule. "Man, you've got to be kidding me; the third floor? I'm going to DIE!" She whined while wiping away some of the sweat that had adhered her bangs to her forehead. Catching some of her breath back, she looked around for the staircase and bounded up the steps two at a time, weaving around the few students whom were less concerned about their attendance ratings despite it being the beginning of a new semester.

_I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna make it..._ She repeated the mantra to herself in her head as most of the hallway flew by in a blur of colors, her eyes only catching the numbers and counting down the number of doorways she thought she had left before she got to the room she needed. Her messenger bag was beginning to thump painfully against the side of her leg, and she grasped a hold on the handle for extra support. Outside of the break she had given herself once she passed the threshold of the front doors, Astria ran at top speed her entire way to campus, and no matter how many times she had practiced, it was a slightly longer distance than she expected. That, and most of her anxiety was over how she was going to be accepted or rejected within her new peers, so her heart was already beating at an accelerated rate. _There!_ Reaching her destination, Astria grasped onto the frame of the doorway and whipped herself inside.

The collision that followed was swift and painful. Seriously wondering if she had finally given meaning to the saying "seeing stars", Astria squeaked and stumbled backwards, her momentum thrown back at her so unexpectedly that she flailed about and tripped over her own feet, landing in an ungraceful heap on the tiled floor. A similar sound of flesh meeting the ground resounded as the person she had run into hit the floor as well.

_Twilight hexed me. I just know it._ Pushing herself up on her elbows, Astria winced at her red palms for a moment before brushing them off as best as she could, glad that her belongings had at least stayed intact. Feeling dismayed, she crawled to her feet quickly and made her way over to the person she bowled over, trying her best to ignore the slight crowd that had formed around them.

"I'm so, so sorry!" Astria blurted out, half resisting the urge to bow repeatedly, not wanting odd habits garnered directly from her addiction to anime to shine through in an already very embarrassing predicament. "I'm a clumsy crack head, and I was afraid I was going to be late, and..." Her panicked voice trailed off as she realized that the person she had hit was still on the floor, half propped up on one arm and was not acknowledging Astria's presence or her rambling apology at all. Long, shiny jet black hair sheathed the girl's face, so Astria couldn't tell what her expression could be. After what seemed like an eternity of deafening silence, Astria assumed that the girl was more physically hurt than she, so she bent down to touch her shoulder gently.

"Hey... are you alright?"

Moving quicker than Astria expected, in one fluid motion her hand was slapped away. "Don't you EVEN touch me." She seethed quietly, climbing to her feet rather effortlessly despite the circumstances. She lifted her head from its downward gaze fully, glaring Astria full in the face without remorse, causing the brunette to back up a couple of steps in complete shock. It was as if someone had doused Astria in a bucket of cold water, just by the amount of anger directed at her in that moment. The obviously East Asian beauty was perhaps an inch taller than herself, and the cascade of straight hair framed her shoulders and came to a stop at her elbows. Her bangs were straight cut severely just below her eyebrow line, giving more weight to her flawless oval face and her almond shaped brown eyes.

Astria wasn't used to having someone THIS angry at her. She was always well liked and accepted amongst her circle of friends and for the most part, her peers. She figured that today would be an experience unlike any that she could have, but she certainly wasn't expecting something like this. She didn't want to move or talk, for fear some worse fortune would become her... but she felt that if she didn't say something, then the mystery girl would continue to make her feel like crap.

"I, um..." Astria managed to choke out, her voice squeaking.

Not waiting for a response, the girl brushed coldly past her and walked off down the hall, not looking back.

_Great. This is hella awkward._ She absentmindedly rubbed her arms, which were oddly covered in goosebumps. She made a quick glance around her and confirmed that there was a number of people staring at her. Some of them were curious stares, others were stares of disdain, but all of them shared a common theme of shock and apprehension. Astria just kept her gaze down, cleared her throat, and slipped into the classroom with a meek look on her face, and sat down in the first available seat. Her cheeks remained red until well after the bell rang for the start of classes, and it was only in the rush of getting accustomed to her new schedule and the layout of the school in general that she had gotten over what happened that morning. She kept to herself, managing to find a locker somewhere between most of her classes, and always ended up being the odd one out during lunch and class. She didn't mind it so much when she was really supposed to be focused on what the teacher was lecturing about, but it was painful during lunch when everyone separated into their own cliques and left her to a table by herself. Astria tried to tell herself that it didn't matter, since she really didn't come to school to make friends with rich snobs, but the truth of the matter was that she was lonely. She missed her friends that she grew up around and were accustomed to, but had no way of contacting them now. The brunette was usually warm and outgoing, but ever since literally crashing into her first day, what was left of her confidence flew out of the window and she retracted into herself, not sure of her surroundings or exactly how she was supposed to act.

The only good thing was that she didn't see the girl she knocked over for the rest of the day. Astria wasn't sure if she could take another glare from her, as much as she probably deserved it. _Geez, I'm such a klutz._

By the time school adjourned with the ringing of the final bell, Astria was exhausted and fully convinced that high school, at least DeCastis High, was nothing but a slave house hell bent on making her brain fall out of her ears in a goopy mess. She already had homework in half of her classes, and the other half made up for it with the sheer amount of handouts and notes that she had acquired. Knowing her luck, there'd probably be a pop quiz in a few of them the next day, and if she was smart she'd be prepared. However at the moment, she was too tired and hungry to think about anything besides collapsing in her bed and going to sleep for a few hours. Retrieving some of her things from her locker, she wandered aimlessly down one of the hallways and pushed open the door to the Girls Restroom tiredly. Astria then chose a stall and locked it behind her, pausing to rest her head against the smooth, cool surface of the door. _At least the bathrooms in this place are immaculate; that's one step up from public school, seriously._ She just stood there for a few moments, so tired that she almost forgot what she was doing in there in the first place, until her bladder reminded her. She then did what she had to do, and was getting ready to unlock the stall when a pair of voices drifted to her ears and gave her pause.

"Did you see that girl that bowled into Kamada today?" One of the voices asked.

Astria pulled her hand away from the door and held her breath. There was no way she was going out, now. She could stand to wait for however long it took for them to leave first.

"Yeah, half the school has either seen it or heard about it by now." Another voice piped in, chewing gum loudly. "That was just a ridiculously stupid move on her part."

The sound of water faucets being turned on echoed through the bathroom. "You know, I do kind of feel sorry for her though." The first voice noted. "I mean, she's totally new, and it shows. And how do you think you would have reacted if Kamada looked at you like that? Her eyes can freeze fire, I'm willing to bet."

"Yeah, but that's the Ice Queen for ya." After that topic had died off, they talked briefly about some of the male classmates they had crushes on, a movie they wanted to see, and a sale that was going on at A&F the upcoming weekend. Astria waited until their voices had long faded from the bathroom before slowly opening her stall door and peeking out. _Kamada... that's a Japanese surname if I've ever heard one._ For a moment, Astria let herself get excited over the prospect of finally meeting and being friends with someone who was Japanese until she remembered why she was hiding out in a bathroom stall in the first place. _Man, she probably wants nothing to do with me, now. And I think at this point I'll be lucky to have friends at ALL the way the school apparently knows me as "New Girl Klutz"._

Astria was able to take her time walking out of school back to her home, since she didn't have anything in particular to do that required a deadline of sorts. She walked along the pathway that led out to different areas of the subdivision, and took idle note of the way the houses fanned out in a circular fashion around the school. Students separated or walked together down different paths, aiming towards a particular set of houses that would lead them to their own. A soft breeze rustled the trees that dotted the area, and Astria took a moment to let the wind blow through her locks. Despite it being the time when school always started, Astria loved the weather of that time of year the most. It was just dying down from the outright blaring heat of summer, but it wasn't yet autumn, and Georgia's heat was tempered by the breezes that were becoming more frequent amongst the pockets of stagnant heat.

"Astria?" Blinking, she frowned and looked around, surprised that someone actually knew her name. It wasn't until she tilted her gaze down that she saw that the culprit was Twilight, who was trotting towards her. Astria took a quick glance around to make sure nobody was in earshot before replying. "Hey, what's up? I just had the WORST day in the history of my life, ever. Well, okay... second worst day; the first worst day is the day I found out that DiC spliced the last episodes of the first season of Sailormoon into one big mockery of what it should have been." She swung her messenger bag behind her head, sighing. "It was BEYOND awful! So, this morning I was rushing into school, right? And..." Astria paused when she realized that Twilight's attention was not on the retelling of her plight, and that she was instead taking a rather quick pace in front of her. "Uh... excuse me? I'm in the middle of something?" She called out, annoyed. _This is the last time I try and spill my soul to my cat. I really need to find some friends._

Twilight turned and looked back at Astria as if she had just realized she was talking. "Not now, Astria. I believe I've found one of your guardians, which is why I've met you here. If you will follow me, please." She continued her quick kitty pace along the sidewalk, leaving Astria no choice but to follow and hope that no one looking casually would think it strange that she was being led by a cat. _It's alright, I guess. Things seriously can't get much worse for me right now, I'm betting._

Of course, whenever something of that sort is thought or said by anyone, it usually gets much worse.

"Her." Twilight spoke with affirmation, stopped after what seemed to Astria like a wild goose chase through parts of the neighborhood she wasn't quite familiar with. Astria blinked with confusion and followed her gaze until it rested on the back of a girl in a uniform identical to Astria's, holding a black school bag in front of her with two hands, walking primly down the sidewalk across the street. "She goes to your school."

Astria did a complete facefault, absolutely dismayed. "Are you KIDDING me? That's the girl that totally ruined my day today, if you had even stopped to listen to me talk about it earlier! Are you sure that there isn't another guardian that can take her place?"

Twilight looked up to Astria, a strange look on her face. "No one can take her place as much as anyone can take yours. Besides, it is obvious to one who can sense auras; she is one of them."

Astria was still nonplussed by the entire situation. "Oh really? Are you sure you're not picking up on the wall of cold air she puts up around herself with a glare?" She replied sarcastically.

"That too."

The brunette did another double take. "Dude, I was kidding. Unless you were too and you totally failed at sarcasm."

The brown cat sighed. "We're wasting time. Since she goes to your school, it would be best if you initiated contact."

"... no. She'll probably kill me by freezing my blood in my veins or something. That was also a joke, by the way."

"Just go do it, Astria."

Panicking, Astria threw her hands up in the air. "What the heck do you expect me to say? 'Hi, I'm the idiot that knocked you over today, and my cat thinks you're one of my sailor guardians. Oh, haven't you heard of Sailormoon? Join me now and you'll get a better uniform than what DeCastis offers you, that's for sure!'? Yeah, I'm sure that'll go over well."

"Do what you must. I'll be watching from a distance." With that, Twilight slipped away, disappearing into random foliage.

_... Just what the heck is THAT supposed to mean?!_ Astria wanted to scream at the top of her lungs in annoyance, but that wouldn't solve anything and would probably earn her the title of schizophrenic to the remaining people that didn't already know her as Klutz. Training her hazel eyes to the sky, she took a moment to collect herself before setting across the street, butterflies emerging in her stomach as she approached the girl, careful of her pace and her steps so as not to initiate a replay of that morning's events. "Um... hello?"

The girl stopped in mid-walk and turned to see who was addressing her. Astria automatically tensed the moment her eyes met her own, even though they didn't quite hold the same hostility that she was met with that morning. The girl's brown eyes looked her up and down once, and narrowed slightly. "Oh, it's you." She said flatly, turning back and continuing her pace without another word of acknowledgement.

"Ah, wait!" Astria bit down her pride and called after her again. "I, umm... I never got the chance to properly apologize for today..."

"Apology accepted." The same flat tone greeted her before she had a chance to formulate much of anything, and this time she didn't even turn to look at her. She simply kept walking.

_She is DEFINITELY not making this easy._ Steeling herself, Astria rushed forward until she was at a closer distance behind her. "So, umm... what's your name?" She tried, hoping she didn't sound as awkward as she was feeling. The Asian girl kept walking, and for a moment Astria was wondering if she even heard at all until the response filtered back to her ears. "Nicole."

"Nicole? Oh... that's pretty." Astria said lamely, although it wasn't entirely a lie. "My name is Astria. I live, uh, in this neighborhood."

"As does everyone else who goes to DeCastis." The girl now known as Nicole Kamada replied, still not looking back at the girl who was going to such great lengths to have a conversation with her.

"That... would be correct, yes." Astria fought the urge to facepalm at her obvious lack of conversational skills. "So... umm... what do you like to do?"

A pause. "Excuse me?"

Astria put on the breaks before she slammed into Nicole's back. "Like... as in hobbies or whatever you do in your spare time?" She explained further.

A sigh was heard, and Nicole turned around again, her black hair flowing around her elegantly. "Why are you talking to me?"

A couple of responses to that simple question went through Astria's mind at the moment, including but not limited to those of, _because my cat told me to, because you're Japanese and it's about time I broadened my horizons, I'm trying to save face so I don't become the school laughingstock, because you actually seem like an interesting person when you're not glaring at me,_ and all that got her was a blank look on her face as she tried to shuffle through what would be the most appropriate response. Finally, Astria just shook her head slightly and sighed herself, deciding to be as direct as possible. "Look, it's hard to explain. I guess the best way to put it is to say that I have something to give you, and running around in circles like this isn't getting us anywhere. I don't really know what else to do."

The gaze in Nicole's eyes was replaced by a look of surprise, but that was also carefully hidden beneath a neutral expression. "Something to give me?" She repeated, her voice losing its flat tone and being hinted by curiosity and more than a bit of suspicion. "Why would you have anything to give me? You didn't know me before today."

Maybe I should have continued us running around in circles. "Well... it's... complicated, to say the least. I'm going to sound so crazy explaining it to you... but that's okay. It can't be avoided, really." Astria shifted from foot to foot. "It'd help if we were somewhere less out in the open, though. Do you mind coming over to my house for a bit, maybe?" She crossed her fingers behind her back and looked as open as possible back at Nicole, hoping that the girl would accept her invitation and make her task a bit easier.

Nicole studied Astria's face carefully, looking for any sign of falsity in her expression. Finally, her gaze rested on Astria's hazel eyes, and her brows furrowed slightly as she conceded with herself. "Alright. You've got me curious."

Astria seriously had to stop herself from jumping and squealing in a strange combination of relief and elation. "Okay, then, just follow me!" She said, not being able to hide the happiness in her tone of voice as she turned back in the direction they had come from, going along a route that would lead to Astria's house. "Thank you so much, honestly."

Nicole blinked once at Astria, not really sure what to think of her yet. "For what?"

"For giving me a chance." She said simply, catching out of the corner of her eye a light brown blur that she knew was Twilight. "I expected you to blow me off."

The Asian girl just blinked and nodded slightly, not saying anything. The rest of the walk back to Astria's house wasn't too long and was silent, although not uncomfortably so. Although it didn't seem like much, Astria could tell that it took a lot for Nicole to give her the benefit of the doubt. She just seemed like one of the types of people who were naturally wary of everything and everyone, simply by the way she defensively held herself. It made Astria feel bad for her, even though she would never say it aloud. Nicole also didn't seem like the kind of person to take pity well, either.

"MOM, I'M HOME!" Astria called out upon her entrance into the foyer. Nicole peeked in for a moment before stepping inside, waiting until Astria closed the door behind them to bend down and slip off her shoes and place them near the doorway. She looked up as she realized that Astria was at the foot of her staircase, her head tilted in wonder. "What?" Nicole said defensively, not being able to hold off an edge to her tone.

Astria just smiled. "Sorry, it's just pretty cool to me that you removed your shoes before coming in. I don't think anyone has ever done that in this house... except for the time I came in with mud all over me. Then I wasn't even allowed past the foyer with clothes on, really."

Nicole cracked a miniscule grin, an image of Astria appearing in her mind covered from head to toe in dirt. "It's fine. It's a habit from my household, so I do it automatically whenever I go to someone else's house. It's respectful, just in case."

"Japanese custom, am I right?" The brunette smiled brighter as Nicole's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Don't worry, I'm a bit of a geek, but I assure that I wash regularly and have a life outside of my anime... for the most part. Either or, don't be alarmed; there's no creepy otaku living around here." She started up the stairs then. "Come on! My Mom's out for the moment, so we have the place to ourselves for right now. But I do want to show off my comfy room. It is THE best room in the house, if do say so myself."

Nicole followed the girl up the stairs, still not entirely sure of what to think of Astria, yet not being able to help herself and her curiosity. There was something about Astria that just caused people to be intrigued, without exuding a mysterious or elegant air. She couldn't pin it down, exactly, however; because Astria was just a normal girl with an apparent gift for bowling over people on her first day of school. There wasn't much on the surface that was extraordinary... but the more Nicole tried to put her finger on it, the more it seemed that she was looking far too much into things. _There isn't always a trap door to things,_ she mused to herself as she walked into the bright bedroom. "You certainly do enjoy your Sailormoon, don't you?" She noted, her eyes glancing over the tall stand-alone rack that held the entire TV series on DVD, as well as the movies and the manga that was definitely out of print.

Astria spun around, an excited twinkle in her eye. "Oh, yes I do. It's my one vice I'll proudly admit to having." She moved her head slightly to the side, giving her hazel eyes a sly look. "How familiar are you with the series?"

Nicole shrugged. "I know of it, of course, and I watched the show as a child. I'm not a fangirl by far, but I get the general idea. Magical girls in skirts. Not much to it." She studied Astria curiously as she sat down on the edge of her bed, not really being able to see what the look on her face was supposed to mean. _Don't tell me I offended her because I don't waste my time watching outdated anime._

"Hmm... well, that will make this easier." Astria finally replied, a finger resting on her chin. Her eyes drifted away from the girl standing in the center of the room to a spot beyond her, back towards the doorway. "I guess this is your cue, Twilight."

* * *

**A/N: **Yay for author's notes at the bottom! Well, this chapter certainly saw some changes from the original. For one, Nicole's last name used to be "Kawaja", back when I was completely ignorant of anything Japanese and thought that for a name that came off of the top of my head sounded cool and close enough. Of course, after taking a year and a half's worth of Japanese courses in college years later told me how stupid that last name sounded. Now that I'm rewriting it, I figured I'd redo the name so it's actually, ya know, an credible Japanese surname. Not to mention Nicole's introduction, outside of the collision at the beginning of school, was a completely different approach.

Also, the high school used to be called "LeeAnn". It's a combination of the last name of my middle school best friend, and the second part of my full hyphenated first name. So... it has meaning, and a part of me was sad to see it go... but it just sounded too corny for me, so I renamed it DeCastis. It's derived from the Greek word "dikastis", meaning "justice". Also, the Latin motto of the high school means "of sound mind and judgment". As you can probably tell, I'm an undercover lover of Greek and Latin languages, even though I've never formally studied them. Perhaps that's for the best though, since I'm on my 3rd year studying Mandarin Chinese and I swear I don't get anywhere some days. D:

I also have never been to Atlanta, Georgia. It was the city, for whatever reason, that I decided would be the center of the events in this fiction. It's been too long for me to remember why I chose a city that I've never been to, but just consider this a mini-disclaimer: if it's not accurate to real Atlanta, don't blame me too much. I'm using creative freedom, here.

I'm really having fun re-writing this thing, seriously. I don't think I mind at all having to balance two fics at once, even though I usually totally don't do something like this, lol!


	5. Episode IV

"So, tonight then?" Nicole said, sipping a soda and leaning one elbow on the table in front of her.

Astria nodded, stifling a huge yawn. "Yep, tonight. Evidently Twilight has a good place in mind, so we should be set." She leaned back in her seat, her loose auburn waves falling down the back of the chair. "I have to admit I'm kind of nervous, though. This'll be the first time we actually use our powers."

The Asian shrugged and crossed her legs. "We should know how to use them, regardless."

The two sat opposite each other at small circular table during lunch time at DeCastis High, undoubtedly drawing a good number of stares and whispers. It was just yesterday that Astria Benton and Nicole Kamada seemed to be destined enemies during their enrollment in the same high school, but now it seemed to be quite a different story. However, Astria wasn't sure if she could necessarily call them at friend status yet. _This is more like acquaintances of common circumstance or something like that. _She looked across the tabletop at Nicole, the girl whom she learned ate alone and had done so during her entire first year at DeCastis. Unlike Astria, it seemed like Nicole preferred it that way, and Astria felt kind of bad for intruding on her normally quiet and typically uneventful life. Nicole did have moments where she opened up, but they were in such small spurts and only revealed a glimpse of the girl hidden behind her cool demeanor.

_I guess it makes sense, though. She is Sailor Winterstar. I shouldn't expect her to thaw out that quickly._ Lady Cheimonas, as Twilight revealed, was one of the most powerful of the Seasonal Senshi that were Princess Celeste's guardians. And for Nicole's credit, she had taken the news of it rather well. Or, as well as one could take such extraordinary information from the mouth of a talking feline. It wasn't until Astria transformed into Sailor Star that Nicole had done more than just deadpan the both of them and started looking more contemplative and withdrawn. After a slightly different version of the conversation Twilight had given Astria the first night that she brought the cat home, Mrs. Benton had arrived home not too long afterwards and compromised the amount of privacy they had. Astria had just enough time to pull Nicole down the stairs and introduce her to her Mom, in which Nicole definitely made a huge impression when she bowed courteously. Shortly thereafter, she left on her way back home.

Twilight only had time to suggest that they meet under the guise of night to explore their capabilities and train for any upcoming battles. Astria definitely didn't know how she was going to slip out of the house after dinner of all things, but Nicole only nodded and said that she would be there. _ Eh, maybe Twilight has some sort of special Moon Kitty spell in her fur that can get my folks distracted long enough for me to sneak out or something._

"So! You know what this means, right?" Astria asked, pulling a red bag of Skittles out of her bag and carefully tearing an edge off of the side of the package. Nicole just blinked at her, not following her train of thought at all. "No?"

The brunette cracked a grin, her hazel eyes sparkling. "You have to get more acquainted with Sailormoon."

Nicole rolled her eyes and snorted. "Hardly."

Astria's mouth automatically turned downward, an almost comical expression if it wasn't so seriously tragic. "What? Why not?"

"Because it's silly?"

Her hands flew over her chest dramatically. "My heart, Nicole! But seriously, besides the fact that it's probably the most awesome anime of all time, it'd be good to have a handle on those who would be our role models. I mean, we're going to be living that life pretty soon."

The Asian sighed, blowing her long dark bangs from her eyebrows briefly. "I can figure things out as they come along. I don't feel too comfortable knowing that I have to look up to animated characters."

"But they're real! Just that we're the only ones who know that."

"Of course. But can you entirely blame me for feeling embarrassed that I'm supposedly destined to follow in the footsteps of a girl whose brains might as well be concentrated into the odongo on her head?"

Astria's shoulders slumped. "Oh, don't tell me you're one of those Usagi-haters."

Nicole just stared at her. "I don't hate her. She's just a tad too immature for my tastes, from what I've seen."

"How many seasons have you watched?"

"Enough to know the plot."

Astria just deadpanned her. "So basically, just the first season."

Nicole rolled her eyes again, hardly believing that they were even discussing that topic. "Does it matter?"

Astria put her hands open palmed onto the table with her eyes wide, as if she was testifying a grand truth. "Duh! The series doesn't even get started until the very end of the first season, and even then it arguably doesn't even get serious until the S season. And by far the best season is Sailorstars, which just happens to be the last one."

"Oh, come on-"  
"Don't knock it till you watch it." Astria smugly rested back comfortably in her chair, popping a few Skittles into her mouth. Nicole just shook her head and groaned. _This girl is obsessed._ After a moment's silence, with Nicole eyeballing Astria and the other chewing casually as if she had all day, Nicole spoke up. "I'll cut you a deal."

The brunette leaned forward in her chair, a knowing look in her eyes. "Hmm?"

"You give me a handful of those Skittles, and I'll watch the stupid series."

"REALLY??"

"Yes, really. BUT, it has to be on my stipulations. For one, there will be no 12 or 24 marathons of Sailormoon. Not only do I outright refuse, I'd like to keep my eyesight as close to 20-20 as possible. The last thing I need is to go blind because I was squinting at too many subtitles."

Astria tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought..." Her cheeks went up in a hot blush and she shifted her eyes elsewhere, completely embarrassed at her supposition.

"What? That I'm fluent in Japanese or something?" Nicole said, smirking a little bit. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not. If anything at all, I'm probably at an elementary school level of proficiency, and don't even ask me to write it. I was pretty much raised in an English speaking household, seeing as though I was born here and all." She hesitated before awkwardly reaching out and patting Astria on the shoulder. "It's okay. You didn't know, and I didn't take offense. Besides, my grandparents think it's very strange that I don't know more Japanese, but I think they blame my parents more for that one."

"I see..." Astria nodded slowly, then looked up to Nicole with a smile. "Thanks for sharing that with me. I appreciate it."

The slim girl just nodded her head and withdrew her hand, not really knowing what to do with herself. It was the second time that Astria had genuinely thanked her for being open with her, and while it was pleasant, Nicole couldn't say that she was used to such genuine displays directed towards her. Laying the hand that was on Astria's shoulder on the table with her palm up, she gave another half smile. "I think some compensation in the form of Skittles is in demand. Just to seal the deal."

Astria laughed, glad that Nicole was trying her hand at a sense of humor. "Sure thing." She leaned forward to dispense some of the candy into her hand.

"YIKES!" A voice shrieked suddenly, and a large jolt to the back of Astria's chair sent her lunging forward, a cascade of Skittles skittering like a waterfall across the table and straight into Nicole's lap. Astria gaped in pained horror. "Aww, MAN! My Skittles... my only means of survival..."

Nicole just looked at the mess in her lap, pooled into a dip in her skirt, then looked upward to train her trademark glare at whomever caused the disruption.

"Uh... it's cool!" Astria hurriedly said, knowing what it was like first-hand to be on the receiving end of a look like that. "Accidents happen, right?"

"Yeah. I totally need to watch where I'm going!"

Both Nicole and Astria turned to see the culprit, which turned out to be a petite girl with wavy blonde hair that reached just past her shoulder blades. The sunlight coming in from the skylight to the cafeteria glinted off of her highlights, causing a sort of halo to appear around her head. The DeCastis uniform was worn almost fashionably over her frame, and Astria noticed that the last three buttons of the white shirt were left undone, giving onlookers a peek of evenly tanned skin if she moved. At the moment, the girl was looking quite embarrassed and apologetic and didn't seem at all fazed by Nicole's staring.

"I'm so, so sorry!" She apologized again, taking hold of Astria's arm as she pleaded. "I swear, I haven't gotten over my clumsiness, I think I have an aura of it around me or something. Oh, geez, I'm rude, too! Let me tell you my name. I'm Dawn Winston, first year here at DeCastis. My Dad just relocated here from Cali, so I really don't know anyone and I'm not too familiar with the city or anything yet, either. I gotta say though, I miss Los Angeles. I think it'll always be my home, in my heart. But, you know, job relocation and all... life changes!" She managed to babble in one breath.

Astria just blinked in shock at Dawn's seemingly never ending flow of energy, and looked back at Nicole's similar incredulous look. _No WAY is this girl this hyper all of the time!_

Oblivious, Dawn grinned at both the girls sunnily. "So, what's your names?"

"Umm... I'm Astria, and this is Nicole. I'm also new, but I've lived in Atlanta my whole life... just not in this neighborhood. So I guess I know how you feel about missing where you came from. Nicole's probably the most experienced about DeCastis since she's been here for a year already. So, if you ever need to find a classroom or whatnot-" She cut herself off at the look Nicole was giving her as she basically volunteered DeCastis' very own Ice Queen as a tour guide around campus.

"Oh, that's so nice of you, Nikki!" Dawn gushed, making Nicole's right eye twitch at the impromptu nickname. "I don't think I'll need it though; I'm pretty good at finding my way around this place for now." She looked between the two girls again. "I wasn't interrupting you guys too terribly, was I?"

"Something like that." Nicole said flatly.

Astria waved it off, laughing nervously. "It's okay. We were just discussing Sailormoon, no biggie."

Dawn raised one finely shaped eyebrow. "Sailormoon? As in... Pretty Guardian Sailormoon?"

"Pretty Guardian..." Astria repeated, then jumping a little as it came to her suddenly. "Wait, the LIVE ACTION?"

Nicole groaned. "Don't tell me people actually dressed up and played the parts of the senshi on a stage."

"Yeah, but that would be the musicals. I've already seen a couple of those, but I have to admit I'm not really into them that much." Astria clarified. "Dawn was talking about the TV drama."

"Yeah." Dawn giggled and pulled up a seat, much to Nicole's annoyance. "I'm a MAJOR fan of Asian dramas; you name it, and I've probably seen it, will see it, or at least heard of it. I own most of the ones I've watched, too; there was a store nearby where I used to live that sold them for cheap. I know that there's an anime based off of PGSM, but I started on the drama because a friend recommended it to me. It's really good, you should give it a shot!"

Astria hesitated. "I dunno... I'm pretty attached to the anime Sailormoon universe, and after some of the things I've seen from the musicals, I'm beginning to think that Sailormoon shouldn't be acted out live." She felt a small jolt of guilt then, knowing the double life that she and Nicole were currently living and half wondering if they looked half as corny. _God, I hope not. I'd at least like to think our outfits are better._

"Oh, you'll be surprised! I have to admit, I was skeptical at first because I don't even watch anime and it just SOUNDED corny, but after the first episode I was so hooked, I could hardly believe it! I think it was after that one that I gave other dramas related to anime a chance. Oh, oh! What are you doing after school today? I can bring over the DVDs and we can watch some of it!"

"REALLY? Awesome!" In her excited state of mind, she completely forgot about the training session that was supposed to go on later in the evening. "Let's meet up out front after the last bell, and I'll show you where I live, okay?"

"Great!! It's set, then!" Dawn looked like she was going to settle in for another long winded babble fest, but the bell that adjourned lunch sounded at that moment, cutting her off. "There's the bell; I should get a head start so I make sure I make it to the right room!" She gathered her things and stood up quickly, not really noticing that the action almost caused the chair she was sitting in to topple backwards. "It was really nice meeting both of you! Bye bye!" With that, she rushed off into the merging crowd of students leaving the cafeteria to the latter half of the day's classes.

"Wow, that girl has a lot of energy to burn. It's overwhelming at first, but she's nice." Astria sighed, then looked over to Nicole, wondering why the Asian was deadpanning her. "What?"

"I guess we're not meeting this afternoon to go over the location of our training." She said plainly, the sentence laced with disapproval. Astria's eyes went wide and she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my god, I completely-"

"Forgot." Nicole finished, picking up her bag and standing up. "Call me when you're serious, Astria."

She opened her mouth to retort, but Nicole had already walked off and out of the cafeteria, leaving Astria sitting at the lunch table alone. A part of her was upset that she had been so careless to forget about training that quickly, but that was quickly overridden by a surge of anger at Nicole for completely writing her off. _As if she never forgot something in her entire life! Give me a break, I barely got told two days ago my secret destiny and she's expecting me to act like it's a part of my everyday existence already. _Astria pursed her lips and stood up, bringing up the end of the students that were milling out of the lunchroom. _Nicole makes it so hard for me to get along with her. If we weren't Sailor Senshi then we wouldn't even be talking right now._ That thought brought her mood down from agitated to contemplative. She really did want a real friendship with Nicole. It might have been at Twilight's insistence that got her up and moving to even talk to her, but she just wished that Nicole wouldn't be so quick to lock her out.

The brunette thought about that for the majority of the rest of the day, as classes weren't ever enough to hold her complete and undivided attention for more than a half hour at a time. Astria's last class of the day involved her teacher detailing the importance of chlorophyll, complete with overhead projector diagrams of plants and lecture notes. She took out her notebook and tried to be diligent, but she soon fell victim to the cozy atmosphere all classrooms seemed to get when the lights were off and the single light source cast a glow throughout the room. Sooner rather than later, her pen drifted off to the side of the paper and Astria's eyelids drifted shut. With her chin propped up on her left hand and her right still holding the Pilot pen in a position to write, she dozed off and was wrapped up in a dream that involved respawning chlorophyll youma. Every time Sailor Star would cut one down, three more would just come up in its place.

When the bell rung for the end of the school day, it jerked Astria out of her dream land with a disoriented look on her face. Realizing what she had done, she quickly looked down at the desk and then her clothes and made sure that she didn't do the most mortifying thing of drooling while dozing. It's one thing to snore; it's another thing to drool. She was still remembering the time that she made both mistakes back in middle school during a particularly boring Social Studies class, and it took her pretty much half of her middle school career to get over how mortifying that experience was. Especially when the teacher had called her out on it to make sure that everyone in the classroom knew. Groggily putting her things into her messenger bag, she stepped out of the desk and walked out into the hallway, taking a moment to get back all of her awareness.

_Oh yeah, I'm meeting Dawn outside right now! _Hair flying behind her, Astria hurried down the flights of stairs and out the front doors, instinctively looking around for Nicole until she remembered about the mini-fight they had at lunch that afternoon. _Oh yeah, that's right... I'm an idiot. I don't know what the heck I'm going to tell Twilight whenever I get time, either. _ Her mood plummeted almost immediately, a frown settling in on her features and she stood outside in the sunny weather that was in complete opposition of her mood. She didn't even notice when Dawn came skipping up beside her and smacking a palm against her shoulder playfully, disrupting her from her pessimistic thought process.

"Hey girl, what's up?" The blonde chirped, then looking more concerned as she studied Astria for a minute with her clear blue eyes. "Are you alright? You didn't look so good a minute ago. Is anything wrong?"

Astria gave a sidelong glance to Dawn. "No, I was a little bit still groggy by the end of class. I dozed off." She forced a smile on her face. "So, let's go! I'm looking forward to seeing Pretty Guardian Sailormoon." They walked off together, keeping a casual pace as they made off towards Astria's house. "What else do you like besides dramas?"

"Oh, you asked the wrong question!" Dawn giggled, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "I can go on FOREVER on Asian music, as well! My favorite genre right now is J-Pop, but I have quite a healthy dose of K-Pop in my collection as well as some C-Pop. Have you heard of Rain? He's this UBER hot Korean singer, who also starred in one of my favorite dramas of all time..."

Not surprisingly, Dawn managed to babble the entire way from her own house to pick up the DVD's and all the way back to Astria's house. She didn't mind, though; Dawn's chatter helped keep her mind away from thinking too much, and she was able to learn a lot of things about the world of dramas and music that might find its way into Astria's eclectic collection in the near future. When they both stepped into the main foyer, Dawn started babbling on a different subject, without really skipping a beat.

"Wow! Your house is so cozy and beautiful! Our house still has the new-ish feel to it because we just moved in like, last month, and there are boxes everywhere! I swear, you really don't know how much stuff you collect until you step around hella boxes in your living room and whatever. I think Dad's going to cave in and get a housekeeper. I have to say I'm glad though, because I totally suck at keeping things clean. It's just like, against my nature or something. Do you have a housekeeper? I think just about everyone here has one." Dawn paused beside Astria, looking this way and that into rooms and hallways and such as Astria picked up the mail on a nearby table and sorted through it, looking to see if by chance she actually got any mail. It was rare for her to get anything, but she kept hoping, anyway.

"No, we don't have a regular one. If we were going to hold a party for the family or maybe if Dad decided to have a meeting with his coworkers around here, then we'd just get a temporary one for the day. Other than that, we hold our own around here." Astria grinned and wandered into the kitchen, looking for her Mom. "I can't say I blame you on housecleaning, though; I can do it, but that's not to say I like it. I usually go out of my way to avoid it for as long as possible."

"w00t! I just think I found my new best friend!" Dawn said happily and attached herself to Astria's arm.

Astria just shook her head and smiled. _She's cute. A handful, but cute. _She stretched her neck around the corner and looked back and forth. "Mom? Hmm... maybe she's not here right now."

"Really? Then you have a gardener?" Dawn asked, pointing past Astria to the large patio door that opened to the backyard. "But... oh..."

Astria looked at Dawn quizzically before following her finger. "What?" She walked over to the door and looked out to see her mom near one edge of the small flower garden that she usually tended, but that's not what made Astria catch her breath in alarm. Her mother was passed out on the lawn, the remnants of dirt still on her hands from an unfinished weeding job in her lily patch.

"Oh, my God, Mom!" Astria wiggled out of Dawn's clutch and slid open the door, feeling like she wasn't moving fast enough. _Oh my god, maybe it's heat stroke. _"Dawn, do me a favor and get me a bottle of Dasani from the fridge. She's probably overheated." She didn't look back before she fell to her knees in the grass, feeling her mother's cheek with a slightly shaking hand. Oddly, Mrs. Benton didn't seem to be sweating, although her skin was cool to the touch. _What..._ Astria then picked up her mom's wrist and checked for a pulse, hoping that she'd find one. When she did, a little bit of the panic and worry went away, but it was sluggish. _What the heck is going on?? It looks like she's asleep, and she's breathing shallowly... but I don't think this is a sign of a stroke or anything... I'm going to have to call 911. _ She gently laid her mom's hand on the ground and started to stand up to go back to the house when something in front of her caught her eye.

It was easily overlooked, especially in the bright sun that hung overhead, but it was the outline that drew Astria's attention. The entire being seemed to be made out of smoke or mist, and was highly transparent amidst the garden. The tulips and other flowers could be seen through its body, distorted as if one was looking through an unfinished cut of glass. Wisps of the mist rose slightly off of its non-descript body, and Astria's eyes traveled upwards slowly to meet its face. Or what she assumed to be its face. It was completely empty, almost like a mannequin.

It didn't take her long to piece together what had happened, and when she did, her blood seemed to run cold. "A youma..."

Jerking as if in recognition, the thing sprung into action, slinking away rather quickly towards a wooded area that laid beyond their back yard. Astria scrambled to her feet, knowing that if it got away, it was going to get away with her mother's energy. "Oh, no you don't..." The brunette reached for the pendant around her neck and prepared to transform.

"Astria? What was that?" Astria turned around to see Dawn, the girl she almost forgot she invited over her house that afternoon, holding a bottle of Dasani and looking partly terrified and puzzled. She had seen whatever it was run off into the foliage, and wasn't sure at all what to make of the entire situation.

She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she didn't transform right at that instant, then whatever it was would definitely get away. The more time she spent standing there, the farther and farther it would get away, and she wouldn't know what to do about the current state her mother was in. However, if she did transform, she would more than likely give poor Dawn a heart attack and reveal something that she knew wasn't in her best interest to do at that moment. She bit the inside of her cheek, caught in the jaws of indecision. "Dawn..."

"Lady Anoixi. Welcome." Dawn squeaked and stumbled off to the side further into the back yard and she looked down wide-eyed at the cat that appeared out of nowhere behind her.

"SERIOUSLY, IS YOUR CAT TALKING TO ME?!?!" She shrieked, her blond strands flying as she clutched the bottle of water to her chest as if it would save her. "THIS IS SO CRAZY!!"

"Twilight, we don't have time right now! It's getting away!" Astria pleaded, already fearing for the worst as she took a glance down at her mother on the lawn, her hazel eyes filled with worry.

The feline shook her head. "You cannot hope to do anything now; it is already gone back to whatever hole it manifested from."

"WITH MY MOM'S ENERGY??"

"YOUR CAT TALKS?!?! AND YOU'RE ACTUALLY TALKING BACK TO IT?!?!" The Californian's voice had reached a high trill, backing up slowly as if she was going to turn tail and sprint out of the house and as far away as possible at any moment.

"Both of you, calm down right this instant." Twilight said evenly and firmly, a stern look coming into her green eyes. "For one, are you keen on the possibility that you might attract civilian attention with your antics? Two, in order to save your mother, you need to transform and ready your Glaive."

Dawn's mouth opened, most probably to protest loudly once more at the chain of events that was blowing up her brain at the moment, but she was cut off by Astria's transformation into Sailor Star. She then settled for being shocked into silence, her lips opening and closing not unlike that of a goldfish.

"Good." Twilight nodded. "Now, you will use the Star Crystal to replenish the energy that was lost. In order to do this, say 'Star Healing Escalation'."

Not allowing herself time to think about how corny the phrase possibly would sound, Sailor Star took hold of her Glaive and held it over her mother's form. "Star Healing Escalation!" The Crystal glowed a soft yellow hue, and for a moment the tingles in Star's body quickened as the healing took place. A few moments more, and the glow and the tingles ceased. Sailor Star put away her Glaive and kneeled next to her mother again, placing her gloved hand on her face and happy to know that more color had returned to her cheeks and her breathing was getting back to normal.

"It will take a couple of minutes for the restoration process to complete." Twilight informed her as she detransformed. "But she will be fine. She will just think she had a dizzy spell, more or less."

Astria sighed and ran fingers through her bangs. "This is not good. We already have enemies underfoot."

Twilight looked off to the side, her eyes grave. "Indeed. This is sooner than I expected..."

"Hold. Up." Dawn found her voice, making the feline and the girl look towards her. "Just what the hell is going on here?" She looked from Twilight to Astria and back again. "This is freaking me out, and I don't even know whether or not to believe my eyes OR my ears. Just who or what ARE you guys, anyway?"

Astria blinked at her for a moment before turning her attention back down to Twilight. "Which one is she?"

Twilight looked up. "Sailor Springstar."

"Hmm... I can see that, ironically. It fits."

Dawn just stared at Astria. "What are you talking about? Why didn't you answer my question? Is this really one big practical joke? Look, I know we just met and all, and we were talking about PGSM for a bit, but this is a little..."

"Insane? Yeah, I know." Astria looked back at her mother stirring. "Let me play my concerned daughter part, and then we'll go up to my room and um... brief you."

Dawn didn't say anything else as she watched Astria help her mother to her feet. Twilight had already left back into the house. All Dawn could think was, _what in the world did I stumble into today?_

* * *

**A/N:** Dawn got a tiny bit of a makeover. Originally, she was overly obsessed with Pokémon, but I can't do that anymore. x_x; I don't even particularly like Pokémon, and I only ever got addicted to the first Game Boy games that came out for it way back when the first Game Boy color came out. So, I updated it to something more plausible and less grating on my nerves.


	6. Episode V

The wind rustled in the trees of a nearby park, carrying a warm scent of flowers and other greenery to the noses of three girls that were gathered in a clearing that was covered on all sides by trees. The one road that ran through the fairly large park could barely be seen through the foliage that surrounded them, and the only light that greeted them was from the clear night sky and the moon that hung above them. It was late, much after 10pm and all of them were out past their curfew, and the park was due to close in a half hour... but Twilight had assured them that it wouldn't be a problem. According to her, the feline had found the spot and had weaved it with ancient magic to ensure that it would not be disturbed by any outsiders. If anyone looking would manage to catch a glimpse of something they shouldn't and decided to investigate, then they would get the mental urge to turn away, and the curiosity would pass like a wisp through their minds.

Astria supposed one good thing that came out of her Mom being drained by a youma was that now her parents were preoccupied with making sure Mrs. Benton got enough rest and such that she was able to slip out of her bedroom to get there without any hitches. It still made her paranoid and uncomfortable, however. She had never snuck out of her house before, let alone at a time that late. She couldn't help but feel like she was being a social delinquent, another mark in a percentage of high school kids that were known for doing those kinds of things... except they did it for parties and drugs, not for Sailor Senshi meetings. _I guess this is a good enough reason to break curfew, right?_

The brunette stood in the center of the field with two unlikely companions, her cat standing between them. One of them was Nicole Kamada, the "Ice Queen" of DeCastis High, her long straight black locks blowing in the breeze and contrasting with her porcelain features as she stood with her arms crossed and waiting with a bit of annoyance in her stance. It was probably because of the person standing next to her, a girl that was as much the day as Nicole was the night. Dawn Winston, the California native was the newest and unexpected addition to the little rag tag group. Her blonde waves had been pushed back away from her face behind her ears, revealing a concerned visage amongst her facial features. The normally hyper and happy girl was too busy being preoccupied with what she wasn't sure was supposed to be going on that evening, having barely being initiated before Twilight told her about being in the park that night. She was too busy trying to make sense of everything in her mind, and most probably trying to decide if she was crazy for going along with it all. No matter how many episodes of PGSM she had watched and enjoyed, it was not particularly on her list of things to do to actually be a Sailor Senshi.

"Now, this is not all of your ranks, as you have probably discerned already." Twilight began, her elegant voice rising from the small kitty frame. "We are currently missing Sailor Summerstar and Sailor Autumnstar, but I have already begun searching for them. They cannot be far."

"How can you be sure, though?" Astria questioned. "I mean, I think it was luck of the draw that we came across Nicole and Dawn. What if the other guardians are across the country? Or even across the globe?"

Twilight shook her head. "Like calls to like. Fate always has a way of bringing the right people together at the right times. Even if you all had not needed to be awakened, your lives would eventually intertwine. Now that the time has come for you all to remember your past, this process has been surely expedited. Your paths will be crossed sooner rather than later, because destiny calls you together."

"That's surreal, to say the least." Nicole said, uncrossing her arms. "I'm not so sure what I think about that. If you keep going along that train of thought, then that would mean that we don't have free will. Everything was already decided for us already."

"To an extent... yes. Some are specifically chosen by the Gods to carry out certain goals. This is not everyone... but you all in particular are of those chosen."

Dawn scratched her head. "I kinda... don't understand. How come this hasn't come to our attention before? If there really were things like monsters and such draining energy and causing chaos, then this would be on CNN already... right? And if Sailor Moon and the rest of the Senshi actually exist, then they'd be celebrities or something by now, I'm sure. I just don't get how we could have missed it."

Twilight nodded slightly. "An understandable inquiry. However, there are many nuances that would take quite awhile to explain as to why this hasn't come to global attention thus far. For one, the enemies that have attacked the Senshi are a lot smarter than the fictional media gives them credit for. They know how to slip under the radar, and use our own ignorance and ability to overlook or rationalize things to their advantage. Simply storming into a public place and rampaging would not get them anything they needed, and would certainly put everyone, senshi or not, on high alert. In fact, the moment it would progress to that point it would be too likely that they could not be stopped. An enemy willing to expose themselves in such a manner would undoubtedly already have such an upper hand that it would be moments before Earth itself could be destroyed."

"Oh..." Astria thought for a moment, tilting her head to the side. "That would be bad, yeah. So... Sailor Moon and the Senshi suppress these things before they get out of hand like that, I can guess."

"Exactly. While it helps that this world is definitely one that is grounded in so-called reality to the point that they will ignore anything that doesn't make logical sense, much to the point of self-enforced ignorance, every once in awhile things may be uncovered and people may start putting pieces together. Thanks to the powers of the Silver Crystal, it is rather easy to wipe the memories of those that might have seen something they should not." The cat sighed and sat down on her hind legs. "However, it is a double-edged sword, which is why youma are now appearing here."

Astria was sure she wasn't going to like where the conversation was headed. "Power attracts good and bad alike, especially great power. That of a Legendary Crystal is a beacon for those with less than savory intentions, and especially for the servants and different manifestations of Chaos. I am sure that when Queen Selenity sent her daughter and her court to Earth, she did not think of the consequences such a decision would make. Her daughter, having been awakened and being fully connected to the Silver Crystal, has the power to seal the darkness away when they arise... but they are attracted like bees to a honeycomb to the purity of her power. Her senshi, also with their own powerful auras, contribute to this unknowingly."

"So you're saying that by just us being together, we're sending out flares that say, 'Hey, we're right over here! Come and get us! We have yummy power you can try and steal!'?" Dawn asked incredulously, her eyes going wide. "Ugh, I'm not sure I like this... shouldn't we just disband then and try and figure out ways to mask ourselves rather than making the fire bigger?"

"I don't know if that'll work now, Dawn." Astria said sadly. "I mean, from what I understand, once we've been awakened, that's just it. There's no real way to turn back. I know that even though I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, I don't know if I can honestly really go back to being the girl I was. I'm supposedly a princess, I have my own crystal... there's gotta be a purpose for all of this, even if I don't see it yet." She looked down at Twilight in the grass. "The only thing we can do is keep going forward. We have to be prepared for more of whatever attacked my mom today. This is why we're here right now, anyway."

Twilight nodded again and got completely to her feet. "Tonight will be your first official training lesson as Sailor Senshi. First things first, you must get into senshi form."

Astria nodded, knowing where to go from there. "CELESTIAL STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" In just a few moments, Sailor Star stood in place, giving a timid peace sign to her fellow companions. "Time for you guys to bite the bullet."

Nicole and Dawn exchanged glances and pulled out their transformation sticks from their pockets. They were slim, delicate things, and coordinated with the powers of the current holder. Nicole's was colored a slate blue at the bottom until just near the top, where a silver rim opened up to hold a carefully engraved snowflake, intricate in its making that seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. Dawn was holding a peony colored pin that was also rimmed with silver, and the motif on hers was a daisy, it's traced white petals numerous around a small center.

"I am going to feel so stupid doing this, I know." Nicole muttered, tossing a strand of hair from her face.

"Well, it won't be any worse than the live action, I hope?" Dawn offered a smile, to which Nicole gave a small snort and shrugged.

"Let's just get this over with."

In unison, they lifted their pens to the sky.

"WINTERSTAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"SPRINGSTAR POWER, MAKE UP!"

Watching their transformations was something quite unlike anything Sailor Star had seen in her life, she was certain. She had never been able to see her own transformation, and she only knew what it felt like and what it would turn out to be when it was all said and done. But watching her friends transform was a new experience. Nicole's transformation stick seemed to glow with a blue light, and streams of water erupted from the snowflake atop the pen to swirl down to her feet and engulf the girl in a wall of water. Dawn, on the other hand, was promptly encased in a sudden flurry of what looked like flower petals from the ground up, before both girls couldn't be seen due to a familiar bright light that obscured all vision. Blinking the small spots from her eyes, Sailor Star took another look at where her new guardians now stood.

Sailor Springstar looked down at her white gloves in awe, ending in pastel pink ribs at her elbow. Her collar and skirt were of the same color pink, and her front bow was a light sky blue, matching perfectly with the color of her eyes. A large white daisy, much like the engraving on her transformation pen, now adorned the center of the bow and the lower back of her fuku, and the sky blue choker matched the color of her heels that also sported the same daisy motif. The shoes came with ribbons that laced up her leg and tied in the back, crisscrossing in a pattern that reminded Sailor Star of ballet shoes.

"This is SO WICKED COOL!!" Springstar shrieked, her previous apprehension temporarily forgotten in the light of her first transformation. "This doesn't even look as corny as I thought it would!"

Sailor Star looked over Sailor Winterstar, who was examining herself in a less bubbly manner than the girl next to her. Her Sailor fuku was of the colors slate gray and a muted blue, a stark contrast to the bright colors Springstar wore. Her legs were encased to the knee in flawless gray heeled boots, the snowflake emblem placed on the front. Slim gray ribbons like the ones in the back of Sailor Star's own uniform drifted down from the rear of the blue skirt, while the front gray bow and the point of the V the white bodice made when it met with the skirt were embossed with the snowflake as well. The straight, black hair that flowed a little bit over the blue sailor's collar of the uniform was partly held back by a silver headband, the top of which almost looked like a delicate tiara the way tiny snowflakes stood and glinted in the moonlight.

"Interesting." Was all that Winterstar said before crossing her arms again and looking at Twilight. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now, you get acquainted with your powers. Sailor Winterstar, you will need your transformation pen for yours." Twilight instructed.

"Alright..." She produced it again and looked back at the cat with an eyebrow raised. "Now what?"

"Now, you will turn around, and aim for that small tree approximately 5 feet in front of you." Twilight continued. "You should call out the phrase, 'Winter Water Whip' as you focus energy on your pen. You will use that as a base to strike out at a potential enemy."

"Hmm... I see. Let's try it, then." Winterstar took her pen in her right hand and took a deep breath before winding back. "WINTER WATER WHIP!" She swung her pen awkwardly out, almost like she was tossing something, and to her surprise a thin stream of water followed the direction and snapped towards her target. It fell short, however, due to her surprise and unfamiliarity with the attack.

Springstar lifted an eyebrow. "That's it? Maybe try it again?"

Winterstar's lips pursed together. "I didn't know how it was going to work at first," She retorted defensively and readied herself again. "Maybe I have to visualize the water first instead of just expecting it to work on its own. Give it some direction, or something." She clenched her transformation stick tightly, and tried to think of it more as a handle for the whip she was going to conjure. To everyone's surprise, as she closed her eyes and drew her hand back slowly, water seemed to materialize out of thin air and take the form of the whip as she prepared the second go at the attack. Her brown eyes snapped open. "WINTER WATER WHIP!" In one fluid motion, she struck out, the water swirled around her temporarily before completely manifesting into a much more solid and sturdy looking projectile, striking the base of the tree that Twilight had instructed her to aim for. As all of the girls watched, the place where the water contacted its surface, ice spread until the entire tree was encased, a frozen mockery of what it originally was before.

"That's more like it." Springstar walked over to the tree and examined it closely, her breath making clouds in the air the closer she leaned towards the frozen tree. "Pretty dangerous weapon you got there, Nikki! I think you actually froze it solid!"

Springstar didn't turn around soon enough to catch it, but the corners of Winterstar's mouth twitched upwards in the ghost of a smile before assuming her regular stoic appearance. Star caught it, however, and smiled to herself. _It's only a matter of time now, before she opens up more and more. Between me and Dawn, I'm sure we'll be able to work on her._ "So, I guess it's your turn now, Springstar."

The pastel colored senshi looked expectantly towards Twilight. "Your main attack is more of a defensive measure, but can be very useful in distracting the enemy long enough for the other senshi to take the upper hand." The feline said, her brown coat catching the moonlight and shining with a golden hue. "'Spring Floral Fantasy', if I recall correctly."

"Alrighty, then!" Springstar grinned and cracked her fingers, then slowly lifting them to her face, crossed at the wrists dramatically. "SPRING FLORAL FANTASY!" As she called out the phrase, she pointed her hands forward, and a myriad of flower petals shot out at an alarming speed, small sparks of what looked like to be electrical energy crackling around some of them. "WOW, that was like... the weirdest yet most awesome feeling I've ever had! Like, I could feel the energy gathering at my fingertips..."

"... and exploding away at your command, right?" Winterstar finished. "I know... it's strange, yet... satisfying at the same time." She turned her head and looked at the tree she struck moments before, still perfectly frozen with no sign of becoming unthawed any time soon. "I think... I can understand why the saying goes, 'Power Corrupts'. If you're not careful and your intentions are less than honorable, then you can get sucked into this in a bad way."

Sailor Star thought on this for a moment as she called her Star Glaive to her, and held it in front of her so she could look at the Star Crystal settled at the top. _I see... does this mean I could get corrupted because of the Star Crystal? I never thought of myself as someone who'd do something bad or anything... and from what I thought from the anime series, Sailor Moon was always the most pure-hearted one, the Messiah, the perfect embodiment of good that was unquenchable by darkness. That's the only way she was able to use the Silver Crystal. Maybe it's the same with me?_ But Star had no idea, really. She flicked her worried hazel gaze down to Twilight for a moment, and resolved herself to ask for certain later.

"So, what exactly are my attacks?" Sailor Star asked for now. "Besides healing people, that is."

"You have quite a few useful ones, but I must say your strength always lied in your skill with the polearm." Twilight nodded towards the glaive in her hands. "However, I do not think you will be able to properly utilize it until you have regained more of your past memories. So, until then, we shall compromise." She turned back towards the tree that Winterstar had been asked to aim at earlier. "'Star Glaive Surprise'. It is a powerful energy burst directed from the glaive to the intended target."

"Okay." Sailor Star readied herself and raised her glaive, her eyes on the tree in front of her. "STAR GLAIVE..." Yellow ribbons of energy collected around the top of the glaive and twined about it tightly, until the entire blade was encased in a shining cocoon. "SURPRISE!" She swung the large polearm like a bat, letting loose the gathered energy in a ball of light that shot towards the tree... and in a not so quiet explosion, obliterated what was left of it. All three girls shrieked as shards of ice rained down upon them, and busied themselves with brushing off.

"Jesus Christ..." Star blinked at the hole where the tree used to stand. "That was a little bit more than scary..." She looked again at the weapon in her hands, not quite sure how she felt about wielding that kind of power.

"The Star Crystal is not one to be trifled with, as you have all just seen." Twilight explained calmly, probably the only one of the group at that moment that wasn't shaken up by what just occurred. "And that was not the full extent of its power."

"Aww man... I wish you hadn't said that..." Star groaned, her stomach dropping down a couple of inches. Springstar came over and patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. "Well, it makes sense, ya know?" She said, her perky tone attempting to make light of everything. "Star Crystal, Princess... someone has to be the ultra powerhouse of the group..." Her blonde head tilted to the side as she drew something to memory. "Kinda reminds me of Princess Sailor Moon's power in PGSM, actually."

Star blinked at her. "What?" _Okay, corny or not... I'm totally going to have to check out that series, now._ "Never mind, don't spoil it. We'll watch it together and I'll see for myself." She lifted up one hand and counted off on her fingers. "So, I have a healing attack, I have an offensive attack... do I get a defensive attack?"

"Yes, it's called 'Star Block'. It summons a protective energy shield to ward off a direct attack." The feline said.

"Oh, like Sailor Saturn's Silence Wall, right? That's easy!" Sailor Star grinned, a lot more comfortable with the idea of using powers that couldn't possibly reduce a high-rise building into rubble.

"Of course, the usefulness of the defense lies in the ability to produce it at moment's notice. Winterstar, attack Sailor Star."

"WAIT, WHAT?!?!" Star shrieked, her hazel eyes going wide as her mouth dropped open at Twilight's unexpected order. "HOLD ON!"

"WINTER WATER WHIP!" Winterstar let loose her attack, the deadly stream of water headed towards both Sailor Star and Sailor Springstar, who was frozen in place right beside her.

_Oh, my god!_ Watching the attack near her, it seemed as though time slowed down just enough for her to get a good look at what was headed straight at her. The clear stream of liquid cut through the air and was snaking around to snap at the center of her body, and at certain points the moonlight was reflected by the water in a way that was almost hypnotizing. At the last possible second, Star shoved Springstar out of the way and took them both off to the side, falling to the ground in a heap as the whip passed overhead. She covered the Seasonal Senshi with her body, shivering as miniature drops of ice cold water showered haphazardly on her bare arms and parts of her face. _Oh, please god, don't let it touch us..._

"... Astria, seriously..." Winterstar sighed as her previous attack dispersed into thin air. "While I guess it was an honorable deed... the point was for you to use the Star Block." She raised an eyebrow in amusement as the two girls got to their feet, brushing twigs and such off of their bodies. "Now you've got grass stains on your bodice."

"LIKE I CARE ABOUT SOME FREAKING GRASS STAINS!!" Sailor Star all out shouted, her heart still pounding in her chest. "IT'S BETTER THAN BEING TURNED INTO A HUMAN POPSICLE!!" She whipped her head at Twilight, her brunette locks flying into her face. "JUST WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "The point of the exercise was, as Winterstar has already announced, for you to utilize a defensive measure. The point of the Star Block is to act as a magical parry, do you understand? Not all attacks will be physical, and you must be prepared for anything."

Star just shook her head, disbelief fully apparent on her facial features. "You couldn't have just told me that and had me test it out or something? You HAD to have my COMRADE point an attack at me first? I wasn't even ready, I couldn't think-"

"THAT'S why she had me do it." Winterstar interrupted, her hands on her hips. "An enemy isn't going to give you a heads up before trying to rip your head off one way or the other. Defenses are reflexes; you can't stop to think before using them."

"But what if I hadn't moved? What if I got whacked in the face with that thing? What if Springstar got caught up in it too?" Sailor Star pressed, looking back and forth between Twilight and Winterstar. "Is it worth risking just to get me to do a stupid attack?"

Winterstar's eyes moved down to Twilight, who just sighed and shook her head again. "Perhaps it is time to adjourn this session for tonight."

Sailor Star pressed her lips together, turning slightly to look at Springstar, who hadn't said a word since the water whip episode. When they caught gazes, she gave a half smile and a shrug while she de-transformed, a shower of flower petals floating away when she did so. Star could tell that Dawn was upset, but she couldn't figure out if it was because of the tension that arose or because she almost got seriously injured, if not killed.

"Well, guys... same bat time, same bat channel?" The blonde said, her voice only slightly wavering as she grinned cautiously at everyone, hoping to ease things.

Winterstar simply nodded and de-transformed, looking at Sailor Star with an unreadable look in her dark eyes. Star gazed just off to the side and started her own detransformation, stepping through the trees as she did so. "Let's just get home before it gets too ridiculously late. I don't want to stretch my luck with my folks that far."

So the girls filed out of the clearing, and with a little help from Twilight were able to get past the few guards that were patrolling the park in the after-hours with no trouble. When they got to their neighborhood, each of them split up with a wave and not much else. Tomorrow was the weekend, so they didn't have school to unite them, and nobody was sure if there were any other plans to hang out before returning to the park for more training exercises. Ordinarily, this would have gotten Astria started in arranging something, probably a Sailormoon watching day that would make Nicole exasperated and Dawn giddy, but that was the farthest thing from her mind at that point. She was too busy replaying that night's events in her head, almost to the point where she forgot to sneak quietly back into her house. Thankfully, she managed to be as soundless as possible in closing the front door, and removed her shoes and crept up the staircase excruciatingly slow and opened her room door inch by inch until it was just enough for her to slip in and lock it behind her.

Peeling off her clothes and tossing them carelessly into a random corner, Astria pulled on her pajamas and decided that she didn't even care enough to brush out her hair and put it in a braid before flopping down on her mattress. In the morning, she'd regret it, since her hair would be in tangles and would require just about half a bottle of conditioner to get under control again, but for that moment, all she wanted to do was close her eyes and fall into a blissful sleep.

"Astria?"

There was a long pause, where she was considering pretending to be asleep already because she honestly didn't really feel like having a conversation with her cat at that moment. But then she sighed and turned her head on her pillow to look at Twilight through a mass of brown waves. "Yes?"

Twilight looked at her charge, a mixture of sympathy and apologeticness in her emerald eyes. "I am sorry that I have upset you tonight. It was not my intention... if I had thought that it would have such an impact on you, then I would not have put you in that predicament. It is my error."

Astria didn't reply and let the words sink in, a part of her feeling guilty that that she reacted the way she did. _Twilight would never put me in danger purposely, I know. Maybe Nicole would have pulled the attack back at the last moment, or me and Dawn's senshi powers would have shielded us from being as badly hurt as we could have been... I didn't stop to think about all of that._ She closed her eyes and turned her head back towards the window, seeing a bit of the moon's glow behind her eyelids. "Hey, Twilight..."

The Mau lifted her head. "Yes, Astria?"

"Are you mad at me for not being more like Princess Celeste?"

The question threw Twilight off for a moment, her eyes blinking as she came up with a response. "Well... I must admit that I had not expected you to be so disconnected from your past self... but you still are who you are, regardless. This is still your destiny. We will all continue to work with you on this, okay? Please do not take what happened tonight to heart."

"Hmm...." Astria murmured as sleep finally tightened its hold on her. The cat waited for a further response from the girl, but when light snores greeted her moments later, she settled down next to her for her own good night's sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was so not in the first draft of this fiction, lol. But I'm really pleased with it. I'm thinking about, when I'm done with this rewrite of course, going through the trouble of submitting it to multiple Sailormoon fanfiction archives all over the web. I haven't done that since... well, since Sailormoon existed in its prime. That should tell you all something. D:


	7. Episode VI

"A high of 91... what. This totally makes me want to stay indoors." Astria groaned and sat on the edge of her bed, looking out of her window with a pout on her face. She had just finished flipping through the channels on her TV, and the only reason she ever paused for more than a minute on the news was to catch the weather. Even though she had lived in the southern state for her entire life, she still didn't feel any more inclined to go outside and get her skin burned off within 15 minutes.

However, she knew that if she remained inside, she'd just continue thinking, and thinking wasn't her ally lately.

Astria trained her hazel eyes on the spot where Twilight would usually be sitting, either observing her casually, talking about senshi business or a bit of what the past was like, or deep within her own train of thought that Astria couldn't hope to penetrate. At that moment, Astria wasn't sure where Twilight was. The girl knew that her feline was probably off scouting, following psychic twinges or however the heck the cat managed to be tuned into people who were destined to be Sailor Senshi. The last two Seasonal Senshi still had to be found, and Twilight was sure to be doing her part to find them.

This pretty much left Astria with nothing to do. She supposed she could help... if she just knew how. She didn't know who was a senshi until Twilight said something about somebody. _ I wonder if I had more of my past life memories would I be able to spot them. _Immediately after that thought came to mind, she wrinkled her nose and stood up, busily looking around her room for her sunscreen. She had already decided that she didn't want to think that day, but it always happened anyway.

The truth was, Astria was having a lot of mixed feelings when it came to her past persona, Princess Celeste. Not only did it seem unreal in a completely different way that transforming and being a Sailor Senshi was, she didn't know how to integrate it in her current life. It seemed a hard enough task if she even knew what to expect. Outside of the things that Twilight has mentioned from time to time, she didn't know anything. _Maybe Twilight has the wrong person... because while she was mentioning these things about this person I was in Staria, shouldn't memories have come flowing back by now? It still seems like I'm being told a story._

She walked out of her house then, almost forgetting to give the customary goodbye to her parents who were relaxing in the living room, and started walking down the block with no real destination in mind. Astria had the fleeting idea that she could pop over Dawn's house and finally get started watching that live-action Sailormoon drama of hers, but that soured in her mind the moment she connected it with last night's events. She was no longer shaken up about it, but it also wasn't something that she wanted to rehash, either.

It was strange, actually. As unbelievable as her life had unexpectedly gotten as of late, and as much as she DIDN'T want to think on it, it had become the center of her life almost without her realizing it. She was tentative friends with two other girls who shared the same fate... and somehow, she was the unspoken leader. _Yeah, but what kind of leader freaks out in the face of an attack? _Astria thought sourly, a soft hot breeze drifting by and blowing her brunette bangs away from her face briefly. She still couldn't get over that. It seemed like her brain was a projector that was stuck on repeat. She saw Winterstar's attack coming at her, she felt the ground beneath her... but what was strongest was the barely disguised looks of disappointment on Winterstar and Twilight's faces. Springstar's silence after all of that occurred also disturbed her, even though she wasn't sure what that meant. She just didn't want the bubbly Californian being upset with her.

_I don't know what to do. I guess the first thing I should do is make amends... with Dawn, that should be easy enough. But with Nicole, I don't know what to expect from one moment to the next. _ She looked up and out her mind for a moment to assess her surroundings, and was faintly surprised to find herself unconsciously in the little shopping district that she remembered wandering in the day before high school started. Astria didn't buy anything that day, but she was considering buying something now. _Nothing like a gift to smooth things over, right? _She walked past a few of the store windows, making quick glances at what was set up in their front windows. It was hard to gauge what exactly she was going to get, since she hadn't planned and these were people she kept forgetting that she just met. _Gah... I should probably stick with something basic. _Unfortunately, she didn't see anything basic in the stores thus far, and she also had to worry about the limitations of her wallet.

Astria kept walking, the hot late-summer breeze tousling her hair until she came to a store that looked like it just recently opened. She furrowed her brows for a second as she looked up to the name, "The Lucky Clover" that was written in scrawling, fancy script above the door in green. Curious, Astria pushed open the door and walked inside, a little bell sounding to announce her entrance.

She looked up and around at the contents of the shop, her eyes blinking as they readjusted from being outside in the sun. The first thing she noticed was a wind charm that was delicately carved with Celtic designs, swaying slightly from the current that Astria brought in when she walked through the door. Her hazel gaze scanned the shop, taking in a myriad of knick knacks that were both interesting yet eclectic at the same time. Some things, she couldn't even figure what use it could possibly be for. She stepped over to a bunch of things laid out intricately on a table, and picked up a painted box that had a green dragon figure attached to the top, and opened it to see the inside lined with velvet and a small paper scroll tied with a ribbon lying inside.

"It's a wish box."

Astria jumped a little bit and turned her head at the voice of the person whom she definitely didn't notice when she first stepped inside. A girl that was a few inches taller than her, but still looked to be around her age looked back at her. Her face and figure was slim, but not terribly so, and she seemed to radiate a confident, no-nonsense presence. Her eyes were a light shade of green that seemed lit from within, and her long red curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail that reached her waist. Strands seemed to be determined to escape, however, as random curls hung around her ears and upon her forehead. Astria couldn't help but stare, and her brain began working. _This is what a leader is supposed to be like._

"Ah... wish box?" Astria found her voice finally, dumbly holding onto it still.

"Yeah. You know the scroll in there? You write down your wish in there, and wrap it back up, and put it back in the box. The dragon is a guardian spirit and will protect it while the wish comes true." She continued, nodding at it in her hands.

"Really?" She looked back down at the box, intrigued. "That's pretty cool... how much does it cost?" She turned the box over to examine the price tag, and her face fell. "Ah..." Astria did a calculation in her head, and she did have enough to buy it at that moment... just not enough to get much of anything else. _ I'm not here shopping for me... I'm here to get stuff for Dawn and Nicole._

"It's... well... I really like it, but I'm looking for something else specifically." Astria said tactfully, placing the box back down and turning to the girl who approached her with a smile. "Maybe you can help me?"

The redhead put her hands on her hips with a good natured smile on her face. "Well, seeing as though I DO work here, that'd be my job, wouldn't it? What are you in the mood for?"

"Umm..." Astria placed a finger to her chin, her eyes searching the sky for a moment. "Something dealing with friendship."

"Friendship?" The shop girl gave a playful smirk. "You can just come out and say it if it's for a guy you like."

Astria's eyes widened and she waved her hands back and forth in front of her face. "No, no seriously! Not a guy! I need something for my two friends so I can tell them I'm sorry!"

The girl blinked her light green eyes at Astria's outburst. "You're buying apology gifts?"

The brunette bit her lip and looked down a bit, embarrassed at having said that much. "Well... yeah. It's kind of complicated."

"Complicated?" The redhead crossed her arms across her chest. "Lay it on me."

Now it was Astria's turn to blink. "Uh... why?"

"How am I supposed to make sure you get the perfect gift if I don't know the details?" She answered knowingly, the same playful gleam returning to her eyes. "Don't worry; I'm not going to spill out your life secrets or anything." She spread her arms to the store. "Look at all of this stuff; we Irish have something for everything... or just about. And if we don't, then we'll probably invent it. Either way, it's something to help narrow down your options." She picked a small spot and leaned against the table, careful not to disturb anything. "So, shoot."

Astria felt like she didn't actually have a choice in the matter. Whoever the girl was, she was incredibly straight-forward. _Not in the way Nicole is, since she doesn't make me feel foolish... it's kind of like she knows I need to get it off my chest, and she's letting me do it without feeling backed into a corner. _"Umm... well..." Her mind worked around a way she could explain it without letting go of details that she really shouldn't say. "My friends... I just kinda met them last week. It's my first year in high school, and I'm in a new neighborhood, so I don't really know anybody. Recently, we were... working out ways of self defense. I know, it probably sounds strange or whatever," Astria babbled. "We were just fooling around. But... instead of anticipating an attack, I freaked out and pushed my friend out of the way and landed on top of her to protect her."

The girl raised an eyebrow at her. "And the problem was?"

Astria seriously thought it was obvious what the problem was, but she continued anyway. "I should have blocked."

"So, let me get this straight." She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes sharp. "Are you telling me your friends are mad at you because you didn't react the way they wanted you to?"

"Well... sort of... I don't think they're mad, but more like... disappointed. I think I let them down, so I want to make it up to them."

The shop girl nodded. "Well. Excuse my French, but that's bullshit."

The brunette's mouth dropped open, her hazel eyes wide at the blunt declaration.

"Have you had any previous experience with self-defense? I'm guessing you haven't."

Astria shook her head, still shocked at what was said before.

"Unless you're naturally talented at knowing how to protect your ass, then you'd need some sort of training before a desired result can come about." She told Astria plainly. "I should know; I took Tae Kwon Do classes before moving here from New York. Besides, you should be glad you actually did something in the face of an attack. Most people would probably be frozen in shock and not done anything. That, and just from you saying that you were more concerned about your friend's safety than your own says a lot about your character. I admire that."

"Oh..." Astria was pretty much speechless, and a faint blush was rising to her cheeks. She came into a store to get gifts, and ended up being complimented by a complete stranger. _Coming from her, that means so much. She seems like the type of girl to not take anything from anybody, and who's really secure in herself and her surroundings. I think... I think I want to be more like her. _ "Thank you..."

The girl waved it off as if it was nothing. "No need to thank me. Just don't let anyone make you doubt yourself, okay? You know yourself best. And if people don't like it, then it's not your problem, it's theirs." She turned around then and started walking off to another corner of the store. "C'mere, I think I have something over here for you."

Astria scurried over, wondering what the girl was going to show her. As she followed her, she noticed a very beautiful and unique barrette on the back of her head, right above where the long braid started at the nape of her neck. It was silver, and twined around an oval with intricate Celtic knots that seemed to have no end or beginning. In the center of the hairpiece was a large green gem that Astria guessed was an emerald, and it caught the light and refracted it along with the antiqued silver casing. _Wow... that's really pretty... _She forced herself to stop staring at it so she wouldn't be impolite, and looked over the shop girl's shoulder at a display of interesting looking rings.

"This is called a Claddagh ring." The girl said, picking up a few variations of the same ring and handing it to Astria for her inspection. Astria took them and examined the pair of hands holding a heart in the center, with what looked like a royal crown resting on the top of where the hands intersected. "Most people wear them when they're seeking love or when they've found it, but it's easily forgotten that it's a symbol of friendship as well." She took one of the rings back and held it up, pointing to its features. "Love, of course, is represented by the heart in the center. Loyalty is the crown at the top. Friendship is the pair of hands. All three of these are connected, and are equally as important."

"Oh, wow... that's a really neat background... I like it." Astria said truthfully, running a finger over the surface of one of the rings.

"I pointed them out to you, because I know you'll still probably want to smooth things over with your friends. It's kind of like one of those "friends forever" charm things that you could find in Claire's, only a lot less cheap and a lot more meaningful." She smiled and handed the ring she had in her hands back to Astria. "I say you should pick out three of them, keep one for yourself, and give the other two to your friends and explain to them what it means. You don't need to credit me; what's important is that the message gets across. It should help smooth any rough feelings over, and you'll all have something to look on when things get sticky between you."

Astria's smile could have lit up the shop, and the girl couldn't help but smile back, happy that she made her day. "OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!" Astria bounced a little, and picked out three of the same ring from the pile. "I'm going to get these! And... oh... wait, how much do they cost?!?!" Her face became panicked as she did another mental check of her wallet.

The redhead laughed, patting Astria on the shoulder. "They're not THAT expensive. Besides, don't worry about it. I'll give you a discount, okay?" She started making her way towards the cash register, her braid swinging at her back.

"Seriously? But... it is okay? I think you guys just opened, and I don't want to-"

Another unconcerned wave of the hand as she punched some keys on the register. "You're our first real customer. We get some browsers, but most people just walk by without noticing we're here. Besides, Dad won't mind. He'll just be glad we made a sale."

She really couldn't believe her luck, and almost unconsciously, her blah mood had lifted as well. Astria smiled across the counter while the girl rung up her things, and she tried her best to not bounce on her toes and look too much like an overexcited kid at a candy shop. "Umm... so... my name is Astria, by the way." She offered. "I live in the neighborhood some blocks from here, near DeCastis High."

"Sabrina." The girl replied, bending down beneath the counter for a couple of small gift boxes to put the rings in. "That's pretty awesome that you live in that neighborhood. I go to one of the neighborhood schools a mile or so east of here, so I'm not exactly rolling in cash, but I'm content." A laugh rang out. "That's so funny; you live in one of the ritziest neighborhoods in Atlanta, but you're worried about going broke in a shop like this!"

Astria couldn't help but laugh herself, feeling too light-hearted and at ease to really be embarrassed about her personal financial situation. "I know, it's one big oxymoron. But, unlike everyone else who lives there, my parents don't spoil me. Before I met my friends, I would have preferred to be where you're at right now, actually."

"What, working a part time job at a family business that hardly gets customers?" Sabrina's voice asked jokingly, still rummaging beneath the counter.

"I think it's kind of neat!" Astria said, swinging her hair over her shoulder. "I never bothered to trace my own family lineage, so I can't say that I'd have the opportunity to be knowledgeable about things like this. It really makes me want to learn more about Irish things."

"I can't say I'm a complete expert, but I could teach you what I know..." Sabrina's curly red head popped back up above the surface of the counter, an annoyed look on her face. "Where the hell did Dad put those boxes? I love him to death, but I swear, he misplaces everything." She rested her palm on the counter and turned her head towards a back door that was partly open. "SAMMY! DO YOU SEE ANY OF THOSE SMALL GREEN JEWLERY BOXES BACK THERE? BRING ME OUT A FEW, WILL YOU?"

Astria raised an eyebrow. "Sammy?"

"9 year old brother. Pain in the ass, but I can't help but love the little bugger at the same time." She pursed her lips together and impatiently looked at the back room, drumming her fingers. "ANYTIME TODAY, PLEASE?" She waited for a couple of moments, and when no response came, she raised her voice again. "YOU KNOW, WHEN DAD GETS BACK AND I TELL HIM HOW MUCH YOU DELAYED OUR FIRST SALE, HE'S GONNA BE PISSED!" Pause. "AT YOU!" Another pause. "THAT MEANS NO DRAGONBALL Z FOR A WEEK!" She paused again and frowned, her look fading from irritation to concern. "Alright, the one part about DBZ should have done it. He's obsessed with that show." Sabrina scratched her head and straightened her back. "I'm gonna go back there and see what he's up to. If this is one big game of hide and seek, then he's gonna be in for a nasty surprise."

An uncomfortable twinge in the pit of her stomach set Astria on guard. "Well, if it is hide and seek, then he won't suspect another person seeking him out, will he?" She mentioned, keeping her voice casual. "Mind if I help? I won't touch anything but the kid in question, I promise."

Sabrina shrugged. "I don't care, and I trust you, anyway." A smirk tipped the corner of her mouth upward. "I'm beginning to look forward to double-teaming the little rascal. I finally get someone on my side!"

Both girls crept into the storage area of The Lucky Clover, looking around carefully. Sabrina scoured the area for her brother, while Astria was slightly behind her, looking for anything else out of place. _I might be overreacting... but it's better to be safe than sorry. _She figured she should start using her instincts more often, if what Twilight said the other night about bad things being attracted to strong energy pulses. _And if it really is nothing, then at least I can say that I helped a new friend out with some sibling troubles. _Astria was an only child, and while she grew up pretty much content with being the center of her parents' attention, a part of her always wanted to know what it would be like if she had an older or a younger sibling.

"Sammy... come out, come out, wherever you are..." Sabrina crooned, tiptoeing around boxes overflowing with things, some marked, and some simply pushed to the side or in between nooks and crannies created by storage shelves and odds and ends. "Sabs is gonna find ya..." She saw movement from around a corner, and she held up a finger to Astria to get her to pause. Curling her fingers into a parody of claws, Sabrina made a comical face and jumped out into the open. "FOUND YA...." The triumph in her voice faded abruptly, and she just stared at whatever it was in front of her in a shocked daze. The brunette scrambled forward to see what derailed her, and let loose a sharp gasp.

The transparent youma was back. Although, in all honesty, Astria couldn't really tell if it was the same one that attacked her mother, but it certainly looked similar enough. Its shadow was currently hunched over the body of a small boy, and it didn't take much to correctly assume that it was Sabrina's little brother, Sammy. He seemed to be simply unconscious, much like Astria's mom was the day she and Dawn found her in the garden, but it was eerie how his eyes were slightly open in his comatose state, staring blankly at the wall beyond both of the girls while the demon continued sucking his energy.

_Oh, god... no... _Terror clenched at Astria's stomach as she took it all in, her brain rushing to process the situation. _Not poor Sammy..._

"You... SON OF A BITCH!!" Astria jumped at Sabrina's outburst, and turned her head just in time to see the furious redhead rush over and deliver a swift and deadly looking kick directly to the side of the youma, sending it flying into the wall with a crash before collapsing onto the ground in a shadowy heap. Astria blinked repeatedly and looked back and forth between the youma and Sabrina, watching the girl's shoulders heave up and down as she literally seethed at the being in front of her.

"Umm... aren't you concerned about what the heck that thing is?" Astria spoke up plaintively, clutching her pendant at her neck for comfort but not sure if she should transform or not.

"The only thing I'm concerned about right now is that it dies." She replied in a hiss, her eyes not leaving the youma. "Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it." She made a slight notion with her head. "Do me a favor and take Sammy and get clear from here. If this thing gets up, I don't want either of you getting injured."

Astria opened her mouth to say something, but she bit back her reply and simply inched over and lifted the relatively light boy in her arms. _I'd just get in her way, anyway... she obviously knows how to take care of herself. _She still couldn't shake the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach as she glanced back at Sabrina, crouched in a fighting stance and glaring down the youma with what looked like little to no fear in her blazing green eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse, and started mentally working out a place where she could transform into Sailor Star and heal the boy with her crystal. That is, until a bone-chilling hiss sounded from the corner of the room, and much faster than expected, the youma leapt from its previous position on the ground and launched itself directly at Sabrina, sending them both crashing to the ground in a death lock.

"SABRINA!!" Astria screamed, clutching Sammy to her and backing up a couple of steps, torn between what she should do. _She's not a senshi... this thing could kill her if I don't do something! _Making up her mind, she rushed out of the back room to the main area of the store and carefully laid Sammy down behind the counter, out of view. "Hang in there, Sammy. I'll be back." Brown hair flew behind her as she then went to the front door and turned the "Open" sign to "Closed" to make sure that this wouldn't be the day that the store would become flooded with customers while the shopkeeper was occupied.

_Okay... now to get back to the action. _She ran back to the storage room and heard the sounds of a scuffle, and she prayed that Sabrina was alright. "CELESTIAL STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" Within seconds, Sailor Star emerged from the bright light that had engulfed her, and she called her Star Glaive to her and rushed to the area where she last saw her newfound friend and the youma.

"What, is that all you got?" Sabrina spat, punching the youma square in the face. There was a nasty claw mark going down her left arm that was starting to drip blood onto the floor, but the redhead ignored it. She was flaming mad, and the adrenaline of the fight kept her mind off of her injury and the insanity of the predicament she was in at the moment. The youma's formally translucent shape coalesced into something completely opaque, its gray body as nondescript as its shadow counterpart. Beady black eyes stared unblinkingly back at its current opponent, showing no emotion and leaving that up to the vicious snarl on its irregular face, the mouth peeled back to reveal razor sharp teeth in perfectly neat rows. It readied itself to launch on powerful hind legs back at her, and let out another hiss.

"Bring it, then." Sabrina smirked, her hands clenching once again into fists.

It leapt at that moment, and Sabrina was in the middle of preparing to give it another powerful kick when the flash of metal shone in her peripheral vision, causing her to start. Before she knew it, the youma was on the ground with a pained yowl that was unlike anything she's ever heard in her life, and a girl in a ruffled miniskirt and a formidable weapon was poised in front of her. "What the..."

"Sabrina, you should probably get out of the way. Last thing I need is to hit you with this thing, ya know?" Sailor Star instructed, inching around and keeping the blade pointed at the youma who was still alive.

_If this day couldn't get any more insane... _she just stared unbelieving at the girl that seemingly appeared out of thin air. She knew that whoever she was, she was on her side, but she couldn't help but wonder what kind of fighter wore THAT to a battle.

Tremendously displeased, the youma launched itself again, only this time at the new target that had managed to decently injure it. Caught off guard by how fast and how deceivingly strong the relatively small creature was, Sailor Star shrieked and fell backwards, landing on her back on the floor so hard that she felt the air get forced from her lungs upon impact. Coughing and wheezing, it was all Star could do to keep the staff of her glaive crossing her body, supporting it with her arms that were beginning to shake with the effort of keeping the youma away from her. She kept switching her hazel eyes to its dark claws, and didn't want to know what those things would do if they touched her body, magically enchanted fuku or not. However, she was unfortunately stuck, not having the brute strength to toss the thing off of her and was effectively denied the offensive use of the weapon in her hands. Trying not to fall into too deep of a panic, Sailor Star did the first thing that came to mind.

"STAR BLOCK!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the Star Crystal sparked briefly and a transparent shield of golden light sprung up, shaped like a star, and the force of the energy shield rocketed the unsuspecting youma straight up at an alarming rate, where it crunched on the ceiling before ricocheting down to the concrete ground. Blinking in surprise, Sailor Star raised herself up on an elbow and gazed at the lump of youma on the floor as the shield dissipated. _ I hope that killed it._

"Hey..." Star looked up in surprise to see Sabrina standing on the other side of the room, holding her injured arm and staring at her in disbelief. "Who the hell are you?"

_Must be the glamour spell or something in the uniform that keeps her from recognizing me. _"Uh... Sailor Star, at your service." She said lamely, wondering if that would have been an appropriate time to let loose a corny introduction phrase that Sailor Moon was known for spouting off whenever she entered any kind of battle. Unfortunately for Star, she had neglected to prepare one for such an event, and didn't want to put herself too much in the area of copyright infringement.

Both of the girls sucked in a breath as the youma once again stirred, and Star ignored the pain in her back as she made herself stand up, clutching onto her glaive for support. She knew she couldn't swing it too wide, since space was limited, but she also couldn't even think about unleashing her most powerful attack. If Sabrina got caught in it, she'd be dead for sure... not to mention the state of her store. _Ugh, what use is having the darn attack if I can't even use it half the time?_

The youma got to its feet slowly, obviously injured from the battering it got from both of the girls, combined with the impromptu intimate meeting with the ceiling and the floor. Before either of the females could react, it resorted back to its transparent form and fled the area quickly, slipping out of the half-closed back door. A jingle of bells could be heard in the distance, signaling that it had left the store.

Star couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at the youma's escape. Eventually, she'd have to hunt it down and kill it, lest it continue taking people's energy. _And who's telling if I'm going to be around for all of its victims... oh, Sammy! _She whipped around and addressed Sabrina, who was still looking at her weirdly. "Get your brother for me, please? I put him behind the counter in the front so he'd be safe away from the battle, but I need to heal him... and I don't think I can get risked being seen looking like this." She motioned to her clothes and especially her weapon with a sheepish smile.

Wordlessly, Sabrina walked around her and out through the door connecting the two areas, and a few moments later reappeared with her brother in her arms, cradling him gently. "What are you going to do?" She asked protectively.

"Give him his energy back. The youma escaped, so I'll have to replace it with my own. It's painless, don't worry. You can hold him while I do it, too." She backed up a couple of steps and held out her glaive. "STAR HEALING ESCALATION!" As expected, the Star Crystal began to glow, and the familiar humming that went through Sailor Star's body was felt as the energy transfer began. Sabrina studied her brother's face intently during the process, and when the glow died down, she was relieved to see more of the color returning to his face and his breathing becoming more normal.

"... oh crap, we need to get you a bandage for that." Star said, pointing to the injury that was still quite apparent on Sabrina's arm. "It seems like I can only give people's stolen energy back, but can't heal actual injuries. That kind of sucks... I'll have to ask Twilight about that, later."

"Uh..." Sabrina cut in. "Thank you for saving us." She looked around the storage area, somewhat pleased to see that there wasn't too much damage to the room during all of that fighting. "Although I have to admit, this is more than a little tripped out. I can't believe what I did..." She trailed off, her eyes looking down at Sammy's face. "I didn't even know what it was, and I attacked it... I didn't even think about it. Normal people would have freaked the hell out and ran away, right? That's not normal..." Sabrina looked more and more concerned with each word she spoke. "None of this is normal. But... it seems so crazy, but the only way I think I was able to continue fighting that was because a part of it felt natural... man, I'm freaking the shit out of myself, now..."

Sailor Star gazed down at Sabrina, the wheels turning in her head. _Hey... could she be a Seasonal Senshi? If fate is supposed to bring us together, then maybe this was supposed to happen like this... _"Don't worry about it. I think I know why you're feeling this way, but I need to have a secondary source check it out before I can be sure. You helped me out, so I'm not leaving you hanging on this, okay?"

Sabrina just stared at her oddly. "What are you talking about? Why are you talking like you know me?"

Sighing, Sailor Star touched the brooch on her front bow, and the detransformation left Astria standing in her place.

"YOU'RE SHITTING ME! ASTRIA?!?!!" Sabrina swore, her green eyes wide. "This is too incredible..."

"I know... it's a lot to take in. I just hope I'm not wrong about you, but something tells me that I'm not." She sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. "Listen, we need to uh... find a viable excuse for why your brother was unconscious, and seriously get you bandaged up. I wouldn't tell your father that someone broke in, because then he'll want to file a police report and that'll just start one big mess. Do you think your dad would believe it if your brother started rambling about a monster attacking him in the back room?"

"... Probably not. He is 9 years old, after all, and still apt to be seen throwing imaginary kamehameha's at evil saiyans invading Earth. So that's one thing we can use to our advantage." She looked down at her arm and grimaced. "As long as he doesn't actually see the marks, I can say that stuff fell down and I cut myself trying to keep damage control while it happened, or something. I'm just not looking forward to the bitch of a sting that peroxide is going to do to my arm. But it's better than infection, I guess."

"Good." Astria gave a small smile and shrugged. "Well, uh... let's start looking for that first aid kit, and I'll fill you in on some small things in the mean time." She paused. "Oh, and it was really nice meeting you today. Honest."

Sabrina just stared at her dumbly for a few seconds, before bursting out in the loudest bout of laughter yet.

* * *

**A/N: **The more I continue writing this series, the more I'm falling in love with it all over again. Completely different rewrite of Sabrina's introduction, of course too. Everything that I rewrite, I'm giving it a realistic flair. My old write of this fic was okay... if you ignore the fact that it was ridiculously corny and really did follow the lines of a typical Japanese anime, including all of the things that go unexplained and that make no sense that are excused in normal anime simply because it's ANIME and things don't NEED to be explained. But I want this rewrite to, I dunno, actually make SENSE, so I'm taking it on a slightly different path than I did before.

If you guys actually enjoy this (if you gave it a shot even after you realized it's not a canon SM fic), then feel free to let me know!


	8. Episode VII

"Seriously. Where are they?" Nicole huffed and checked her wristwatch again.

"Chill out, Nikki." Dawn said, waving off the Asian's impatience with a flutter of her fingers. "We got here pretty early, I think. Twilight's not even here yet, so she's probably still with Astria somewhere."

Ignoring the nickname that she never actually gave Dawn permission to use, she folded her arms. "Hopefully she's teaching her how NOT to cower in the face of an attack." Nicole scoffed, drawing an incredulous look from the Californian. "What?"

The blonde frowned. "Don't 'what' me! I thought you'd be over it by now. Astria meant well, really!"

Nicole remained unphased. "Well, 'meaning well' won't save your life in a battle."

Sighing, Dawn shook her head and kicked around a random branch in the grass, her arms folded behind her back. "Nikki... I really do admire your strength." She said slowly, drawing Nicole's gaze. "It's something that I don't think I have. I don't think it's something that a lot of people have. And that'll be really good when it comes to battles and such, whenever we actually get into something tough like that. But... not everyone can do that. Maybe Astria's strength lies in another area. I just don't want a repeat of what happened the other night. I may not be a battle-hardened warrior or whatever, but I do know that having uneasy feelings in the group isn't something that we want." _Not to mention among friends._

Nicole sighed and shrugged. "Call it my way of being concerned without being soft about it. She's our leader, isn't she? While it seemed to work darn well for the original Sailor Senshi to spend their lives not only covering their own rears, but their princess' as well, I don't think that actually works in the real world." She trained her brown eyes to the night sky. "We're all reincarnations of our past selves. We may not know too much about us, but we do know from Twilight that Astria used to be a princess that could hold her own. In this case, we weren't meant to be her babysitters; we were meant to be her equals. If she doesn't embrace herself as Princess Celeste, then I don't know what it's going to do to us as a whole."

"I don't know if it's a good thing though, to put it all on our past lives." Dawn replied, her mind going back to the only thing she knew about Sailormoon, which was PGSM. "We're living this one right now. Yeah, things are getting really whacked out with this whole sailor senshi business, but I don't think we should lose who we are now. And making Astria be someone that she's not isn't fair to her." She paused for a moment. "I don't think it was right to throw that attack at her the other night, either."

Nicole let out an exasperated sigh. "I wasn't going to really hit her. I was honestly pulling back the moment I realized she wasn't going to defend herself, but by that time she had already taken the dramatic route. Besides, it wasn't my idea. It was Twilight's. And as strange as it is to be told what to do by a cat, she knows a lot of things we don't, and trusting her is the only thing we've got. Out of us all, she spends the most time with Astria, she's the first senshi that was found... so doesn't she know what's best where Astria is concerned?"

Dawn opted to stay silent after that, not wanting to start a fight. She wasn't upset at Nicole as much as she disliked the disunity of the group. _Astria failing to use a defensive maneuver is such a small thing compared to how scattered we are as a team. I know we all just started and it's tough to get used to, but we should do the best we can. We don't know how tough it is on Astria; we only see her at school, smiling and making it through. I just hope she's okay._

Both girls started when they heard faint conversation drifting through the trees, and one of them definitely stood out to them as Astria's. A few moments later, the two missing from the group came through the clearing, along with a new member in their midst. Nicole and Dawn looked on in curiosity as Astria detached herself from the side of the mysterious girl and nearly dashed at them with a small bag in her hands.

"You guys! I have presents!" Astria chirped gleefully, and Dawn did a little squeal of her own, half happy that she was receiving something that she wasn't expecting, and half because she was glad to see that Astria's had dispersed her solemn mood from the other day. Nicole just blinked, folding her arms and tilting her head to the side at the whole thing, not knowing exactly what to think of the announcement.

"You shouldn't have! Even though I'm definitely not telling you to take it back. I'm seriously a pack rat, and I LOVE getting gifts, so I think I'm going to love it!" The blonde reached her familiar babbling stage as she tried to eyeball her way into the bag to see whatever it was before Astria actually presented it to her.

Astria laughed a bit and dished out a ring box and offered it to her. "Here you go!"

Dawn gasped as she took it, placing the back of a hand to her own forehead dramatically. "Oh, you're proposing so soon!" She moved the hand to her heart and opened her eyes wide. "I... I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of a commitment, but... I love you! The answer is yes!"

Both girls embraced comically then, causing Nicole to roll her eyes. "Do we have time for this?"

The redheaded girl sucked her teeth and looked over at her amusedly. "I think it can be allowed every once in awhile. Besides, I think the girl's been through a lot."

Nicole raised an eyebrow and faced the newcomer then. "And you would be?"

She put out a hand then. "Sabrina Willis, part-time worker at The Lucky Clover down on Main. Or, if you would like, Sailor Summerstar. There's another name too, but that's a bitch to pronounce. The other two are easier to remember, anyway."

"Lady Kalokairi." Twilight affirmed, and Sabrina shrugged in response. Nicole finally took the hand that she was offering and gave it a shake, her face carefully blank.

"Yeah, that's Nicole. She's Sailor Winterstar, and this is Dawn, Sailor Springstar." Astria filled in as Dawn finally opened the ring box and pulled out the Claddagh ring, slipping it on her middle finger and admiring it as much as she could in the faint light that night could offer. The brunette came over and gave an identical box to Nicole, who took it awkwardly and opened it herself. "What's this for?"

"Friendship." Astria said proudly, glancing over at Sabrina. "Love, Friendship, and Loyalty, to be exact. I wanted something to show you guys how much you mean to me. Honestly." She sobered a bit and looked to her own hand, where the ring was already in place. "I know we all just met, and you can think that this is corny and unnecessary... I know you're probably thinking something like that, Nicole. But... if there's one good thing I know for certain that has come out of our crazy situation of being sailor senshi, it's us being able to meet." She looked up from her hand then, and looked at Dawn and Nicole in the eyes. "Thank you. Thanks for not thinking I'm crazy for dragging you into this... well, at least not for long. And thanks for sticking with me thus far."

Dawn actually looked like she had tears in her eyes, and Nicole was so unprepared for the impromptu present and speech that she just stood there with the box in her hands, looking at Astria queerly. Sabrina looked to Astria and gave a confident nod with a grin to boot, and Twilight cleared her kitty throat, approaching the center of the somewhat circle the girls had made.

"Love, friendship, and loyalty... three things the soldier must not forget." The feline began. "You cannot hope to have true loyalty to your charge or your liege without love, and without friendship, there can be no bond between comrades. These three ideals are connected to one another, and for all intensive purposes, should be viewed by the sailor senshi as one in the same. Dissention is not an option. Disagreements cannot be prevented, but they may be weathered properly with these concepts in mind. As you all continue to grow and learn from one another, as well as the world around you, I will hope that you come to completely understand the importance of these things."

Everyone nodded as Twilight finished her speech, and Dawn broke the silence by scooting over and giving Astria another big hug, still bouncing at her present. Sabrina was next as she pulled her transformation stick out of her pocket and examined it carefully, taking note of its red base and the gold crown that held a starburst fashioned in red crystal, its many pointy edges protruding outwards. "So, how do I use this thing again? I think I'm the only one in this group that hasn't seen Sailormoon."

Twilight nodded at her. "Hold your pen up to the sky, and call out the phrase, "Summerstar Power, Make Up!" You must be sure that your belief will be true while calling out the phrase, otherwise nothing will come out of it."

The redhead nodded a bit and looked again at the pen with a raised eyebrow. "Make up? What's it gonna do, give me instant Maybelline eyelashes and perfect blush?"

Astria and Dawn dissolved into giggles while Nicole looked on, nonplussed. "The phrase, "Make Up", has to do with activating the magic that will begin the transformation." Twilight calmly explained. "The Sailor Senshi fuku is one large and intricate spell bound to the being in which the power was invoked. As such, it is glamour to protect your alternate identities as well as serving as magical defense."

Sabrina snapped her fingers in recognition. "Oh, so that's why I couldn't recognize Astria when she was in her Sailor Star getup today. Even though it's obvious to me now and I don't understand why I didn't notice it before, it never would have crossed my mind to connect the dots. That's pretty awesome."

Dawn's eyes widened again and she looked at Astria. "You had to be Sailor Star today? What happened?"

The brunette scratched her head. "Wasn't planned at all, believe me. Another youma showed up while I was at Sabrina's shop today picking up your presents. It ended up draining her little brother of almost all his energy, and I had to transform to try and stop it. In the end, it still got away... but Sabrina held her own against it!" She looked towards the red head, her eyes shining. "It wasn't until after I had de-transformed that I had a feeling that she was probably one of the senshi we're looking for."

"But you didn't know for sure, and you revealed your identity anyway?" Nicole asked bluntly. "That was risky."

Astria winced and gave a sheepish shrug. "Yeah, I know... I could have been wrong."

"But you weren't." Sabrina said firmly. "Life is full of risks, and you can't always predict what's gonna come out of every decision you make. Remember that, okay? And don't go doubting your intuition, either, no matter what anybody else says. It's there for a reason, and it led you right." She patted Astria on the shoulder and walked off to the side. "I have no idea how this is supposed to work, but something tells me I should stand clear." Taking a deep breath, she raised her henshin stick up above her head. "SUMMERSTAR POWER, MAKE UP!"

The crystal on the top of her pen glew with orange light on the inside, slowly at first, until it was large enough for the girls to see that it seemed to be spiraling. Then it seemed to explode from the pen ferociously, pouring forth tendrils of red-hot flame that lit up the area almost to the point that it seemed like midday again. The fire licked down Sabrina's arm and twined around her entire body before a bright white light obscured all vision, and as the onlookers blinked to clear the spots from their eyes, Sailor Summerstar stood in the center of the clearing, looking over herself. The orange ribs on her gloves matched her sailor collar and pleated skirt, accented by the yellow bow that graced her chest that now held the red starburst motif as a brooch, complimenting the smaller one at the point of the V in which her white bodice met her skirt. A pair of yellow ribbons trailed down from the back, and a plain yellow choker was at her neck, matching her footwear that was similar to Sailor Jupiter's ankle boots. The mass of red curls that were originally held in a braid now flowed freely down her back, the Celtic hairpiece the only thing connecting her civilian form with her current one.

"You know, my mom always said to stay away from bright colors. It washes me out since I'm pale as hell. But I think I can work with this." Summerstar grinned and looked at everyone expectantly. "So, am I gonna see what you guys end up with besides Astria, or am I the only model on this walkway?"

Soon, the other girls followed suit, and were once again waiting for instructions from Twilight. "First, let us get Sailor Summerstar caught up on her attacks. "Summertime Firestar Blast", if memory serves me correctly. It is a projectile used to stun and severely injure an enemy, and-"

"Alright, alright, lemme try it out." Summerstar interrupted, turning around and aiming away from the group. Her face took on a concentrated frown, as if trying to draw something up from the depths of her mind. One gloved hand rose, and she cupped it in front of her with the other as if she were holding a small ball. "Summertime Firestar..." Light came to life in her palms, growing more and more as she readied her attack. "BLAST!" She shot it forward, and what looked like a flaming meteor danced through the air for many yards before finally dissipating, leaving faint wisps of smoke marking the trail it traveled.

"Oh! Fire hazard if I ever saw one!" Springstar sang. "Don't try this at home, kids!"

Summerstar walked back over to them, grinning. "I have to admit, that was pretty wicked. Next time one of those things shows up, I know exactly what I'm going to do to its face." She glanced down and did a double take at her arm, which she just realized was missing its bandage from earlier and was now exposing the long claw mark to the night air. "So, do these uniforms protect from possible infection?"

Twilight nodded. "As well as providing accelerated healing and greater protection from physical attacks that would normally kill a human being."

"So, are you saying we're basically immortal?" Winterstar asked.

The cat paused for a moment before replying. "Not entirely. It is possible to suffer an injury so great that it breaks the spell holding your transformation, reverting you to your normal state. Such in that event, without the protection of your senshi powers, you will most likely die. I doubt that the youma that has been appearing as late can inflict enough damage, physical or magical, for it to be much of a concern, but it is always done one well to be prepared."

"Ah... that's a bit scary, I'm not going to lie." Sailor Star spoke up, a concerned look on her face. "Anything else we should know dealing with our personal safety?"

"Protect your transformational tools. If broken, it will sever you permanently from your senshi form. They are not as delicate as they seem, but please do not be careless with them. They were fashioned for your use, and your use only." She turned her emerald eyes to Star. "You should protect your Star Crystal. For if at any time it is destroyed, you will cease to exist."

Star definitely did not like the ominous tone in the warning. "Well, I figured if it broke, I'd die." She said carefully, her heart beginning to palpitate uncomfortably.

"I do not think you completely understand. Death is dealt in two ways. The physical is the everyday death that we all experience, through a loved one, a treasured pet, or perhaps a flower in the garden. However, the most severe and much more permanent form of death is the eradication of the soul. Your soul is the core of your being, what connects this life to those of the past, no matter how significant or negligible. It is what will survive the test of time again and again, and is what allows us to be reborn." The brown feline looked towards the seasonal senshi. "If at any time you fall, you shall be reborn. It is the way of things. In what form you shall take is uncertain, yet also unimportant. This is also true for Sailor Star, if she dies by normal means. However, if the Star Crystal is destroyed, the bond required to connect her with the crystal will be violently severed. The trauma that shall unfold upon her shall be unlike any anyone has experienced, and will be severe enough to rend the soul asunder."

"WHHHAAATT?" Springstar gaped, flailing her hands a bit. "HOW IS THAT EVEN FAIR?" Star could do nothing but stare blankly, at a spot somewhere above Twilight's head, soaking all of the information in.

"It is the price the Celestials pay in exchange for the power they wield." Twilight stated. "This is why so many have rallied for the power of the Silver Crystal for their own. With that power, they would have the ability to do virtually anything, limited only by the boundaries of their will."

"Wouldn't that be impossible to use if you weren't the person sworn to the crystal in the first place?" Winterstar brought up, brushing her bangs from her forehead, showing a flash of a silver tiara with a blue stone set into it. "All these enemies are clawing at the bit for a power that isn't even theirs to control, anyway."

The feline fell silent and looked down. "Well, it is possible by one of two ways. Neither of which are savory in the least, as you might imagine. The first is by influencing the holder of the crystal by manipulation or possession. Given the pure nature of the Celestials that is needed to control such an awesome power, this may not be entirely possible. That is not to say that there are not those that haven't tried."

Springstar bit her bottom lip, her sky blue eyes worried. "Do we want to know what the second way is?"

Twilight sighed again. "The other way to control a Crystal is to take the Celestial's blood and coat oneself in it prior to handling the crystal. This is... the most gruesome way, yet the easiest as it simply involves gravely injuring the body and taking what you need by force."

Sailor Star's hazel eyes glazed over slightly, half hearing the morbid discussion and half falling into a horrified state of mind. _Someone out there would be willing to bathe themselves in my BLOOD just to use my crystal? _She couldn't fathom the mind of anyone willing to do such a base act. It was easy thinking of all of the villains in Sailormoon who had their different motives for wanting control over the Silver Crystal, but it only involved things like taking the Crystal, taking a Star Seed, etc. The closest the anime series came to the manipulation of Sailormoon was through Prince Diamond, and Star distinctly remembered Usagi not being able to use the Silver Crystal due to the sheer negative power emitted by the Dark Crystal. _So... what trials did the REAL Usagi have to go through during her life as Sailor Moon, as the Princess? What did the anime and the manga gloss over?_

Summerstar turned her green eyes on Star, noticing as the conversation went on, how tense their leader had gotten. "Alright, let's stop dwelling on depressing stuff. I look at it this way; if we kick everything's ass, then there won't be anything left to worry about."

Winterstar snorted. "That's a very unrealistic goal."

"How so?"

The blue and grey clad senshi just blinked at her. "Jumping in unprepared will more than likely get us killed."

Summerstar shrugged. "Well, the way I see it, not jumping in at all makes us sitting ducks. We have our own princess to protect, now more than ever that Twilight has told us just what kind of sick freaks are out there."

Winterstar's mouth pressed into a thin line. "Sailor Star is more than capable of defending herself. We fight beside her, not FOR her."

"So, it's totally fair to put her life on the line the same as the rest of us, who don't have a special crystal that evil people want so bad that can threaten to wipe her soul from the cycle of reincarnation."

"Then why is she a soldier? If she's really supposed to be some woman on a pedestal, then why does she wear the senshi uniform?" Winterstar shot back. "To be a soldier is a risk. To be both a princess and a senshi is a responsibility. She should be able to handle both."

"And from what I'm getting from you, you expect her to somehow be able to handle this all right now." Summerstar began pacing slowly, a finger on her cheek. "I don't know what's more unrealistic; me going in and burning the crap out of demons or your idea that if we can't handle everything on our own then we're useless."

Winterstar's eyes turned a shade darker. "I don't know what's more annoying; you thinking that Astria needs to be coddled in the face of danger as opposed to having her stand on her own two feet and accept that this world isn't all sparkles and daisies, or the audacity that a person who just came in today is shoving words in my mouth."

Star and Springstar exchanged wary glances. Things were getting ugly very quickly between their comrades, and it made the entire spectacle that happened the prior night pale in comparison. "Uh... guys?" Star spoke up tentatively. "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. So, um... let's just agree to disagree for now."

Summerstar switched her gaze to Star, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Sometimes, fighting DOES get us somewhere." She flicked her head over to Winterstar. "Obviously, she has a problem with me. Talking is what's leading us in circles." She cocked her stance and placed her hands on her hips, looking over at the dark-haired beauty. "So, let me have it, then. Give me a reason to respect your so-called authority."

Winterstar just stood in place, the wind rustling her hair about her like a dark cloak, staring hard at Summerstar. Her face didn't show a sliver of emotion, but her eyes told numbers, and her fingers flexed slightly.

"You guys... probably not such a good idea..." Springstar whined, switching her gaze back and forth between the two.

"I think it's a great idea." Summerstar flippantly said, brushing a few curly strands of red hair behind her shoulder. "Might help knock the stick from her ass or something."

A blue and silver henshin stick appeared in a clutched fist, and water droplets began forming in the air around Winterstar's hand. "WINTER WATER WHIP!" The icy cold stream of water snapped at high speeds towards Summerstar, and the fiery senshi barely had enough time to duck the attack before it connected with her face. Jumping back a couple of feet, fire danced her in hands. "SUMMERTIME FIRESTAR BLAST!"

Seeing the fireball rocketing towards her, Winterstar managed to turn her already manifested whip back towards her, connecting with the attack in mid-air. A loud clap sounded, and in a miniature flash of light both of the attacks canceled each other out. A moment was spared as both senshi looked at each other, knowing now that they were of equal strength. Then, Summerstar let loose a smirk as she conjured fire once again in her palms, and started launching a bunch of blasts in Winterstar's direction.

Knowing that she wouldn't have enough time to call forth her whip again, Winterstar used instincts she didn't know she had and jumped up and back, impossibly high since she had tapped into her senshi powers to accomplish the feat as the fireballs passed harmlessly below her. As she prepared for her feet to touch the ground, she called her whip forth and struck out at Summerstar, preventing her from sending off any more fireballs. The redhead moved out of the way again, and charged forward, deciding to cut the magical battle short and do what she could do best. She was fast, but Winterstar still took distance into consideration. "WINTER WATER WHIP!" She lashed out again at Summerstar, anticipating her reflexes to dodge, and struck out at her real target. A tree branch turned to ice as the whip wrapped around the stem, and Winterstar yanked it from its base to crash against Summerstar's side that was left unguarded by the unsuspecting attack. It exploded into shards on contact, serving the purpose of sending Summerstar flailing off to the side. But before Winterstar had time to admire her tactics, Summerstar managed to conjure a weak fireball and send it flying into Winterstar's chest, sending the ice senshi backwards as it exploded into cinders. Both of the soldiers hit the ground at the same time, and didn't immediately take up the mantle of battle afterwards.

Star went over to Summerstar and Springstar rushed over to Winterstar to survey the damage. As the blonde helped her to her feet, she noticed that outside of being dazed by the impact, Winterstar was pretty much unscathed. The bow on the front of her uniform was slightly singed in places, and a streak of soot was on her chin, but was able to get to her feet with Springstar's prodding and holding on her arm while she got her bearings straight. Meanwhile, Summerstar sat up and brushed a few ice shards from her hair, and actually laughed. Star blinked and really hoped that she wasn't knocked delirious or anything.

"That... was fucking awesome!" Summerstar proclaimed, standing up. "I haven't had a good spar in awhile!"

Winterstar just blinked at her, no longer feeling incensed yet not entirely willing to admit that letting off steam in that fashion actually helped calm her down. "You are insane."

Summerstar gave another one of her good-natured shrugs as Sailor Star tried not to pull her own hair out. The brunette looked towards Twilight, who had sat calmly and watched the entire exchange between the two warriors without making a move to put a stop to it. "Twilight, why didn't you do anything? We're not supposed to be fighting each other!"

Turning to her liege, she let loose a small smile. "This is what training was in our kingdom, Star. Not all battles are against youma. Many soldiers let loose their anger in the training grounds against their comrades, and this helps eliminate any such disagreements from happening in on the real battlefield. Also, when it comes to discovering abilities, this method goes much faster than simply telling you what to do. In this small fight alone, Winterstar learned how to use her powers to her advantage against a faster opponent. Summerstar, whether she realized it or not, had ceased calling out her attack phrase with each fireball and simply willed it to happen. While they were not as powerful as if she had used the magical phrase, they could be released in a faster succession."

"So... next time, should we call the next training session a free-for-all?" Springstar asked.

"Not entirely. They need to be coordinated to a certain degree so that the playing field remains even. With Winterstar and Summerstar, they are on the same power level. But if Summerstar were to direct her attacks towards you, Springstar, you would have little in your defense. I shall think about scenarios to implement for you in the meantime."

Sailor Star just stood in the center of the clearing, wondering why it felt that everything was taking off while leaving her behind.


	9. Episode VIII

**A/N:** Master's school sucks. If you're curious, see my profile for details. D: Oh, and thanks to those who are still reading!

* * *

"You know what I hope we'll get next from Twilight?" Dawn said, spooning up the last of her strawberry yogurt. "Communicators."

Nicole sighed and bowed her head, her black locks falling forward slightly to add to her exasperated look. "I have a better idea. Let's all get together and buy cell phones."

The blonde pouted with the spoon hanging out of her mouth. "Oh, come on, Nikki!" She spoke around the utensil, causing her speech to be comically slurred. "I think it would be neat to be able to open up a little wristwatch compact and see our faces as we were like, 'Danger! Enemy down on 5th!' or something like that!"

Astria just looked between the girls and smiled as she leaned back against the pillows on her bed that were serving as a makeshift back support as she lounged. It was after school, and for the past couple of weeks the girls had taken to coming over to Astria's house to chill out. At first, it was an excuse for Dawn to skip out on unpacking the rest of her things from the move, and Nicole didn't offer any explanation, but she also didn't seem like she wanted to go home, either. It just seemed natural that the center of all things would be Astria's house in the daytime, and the park at night. The park certainly saw the most action, and that was one of the only times that the group was able to meet up with their newest addition, Sabrina, as well. The redheaded, spunky girl was always torn between her own school which was some distance away from the others, as well as either babysitting her little brother or doing things dealing with the shop that they hadn't figured out much in the way of non-conflicting schedules. The brunette was hoping that it would all work out soon when it came to that, because she really liked Sabrina. That, and she was worried about how they melded together as a group of girls rather than just vigilante super heroes.

"Look. Do you know how conspicuous it's going to look if a bunch of high school girls walked around with matching wristbands that sometimes can be seen talking through them or beeping or such? What are we going to say? Not only is it going to be lame to look like we all got some walkie-talkies from Toys-R-Us or something like that, I just think it's unnecessary."

Dawn shrugged, putting her empty Yoplait container to the side. "I think it's necessary. It'd help us keep in contact with Sabrina more, too."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "I think we're doing fine enough as it is."

Dawn pursed her lips and wiggled her eyebrows up and down. "You and Sabs just need to kiss and make up."

The Asian sputtered and glared at Dawn incredulously. "What? We're not fighting, so there's no need to 'kiss and make up'."

"Well, you guys aren't exactly the best of friends, either." Astria spoke up, fingering one of her brunette locks absently. "While I'm glad nothing like the first time you guys met has happened since, there's still some tension there."

"I wasn't aware that we had to be attached to each other's hip in order to be comrades." Nicole said blandly.

The blonde sighed and lounged back on Astria's window seat, looking over to Nicole who was seated in a chair near the dresser. "That's not the point, girl. We're just worried, is all. There's no reason why we all shouldn't get along."

Nicole sighed in exasperation. "I just don't see what the big deal is. She's a sailor senshi, just like the rest of us, so of course I'll work with her. And I'm not saying she's a bad person, either. I just think that our personalities clash, but that's nothing that we can change."

Dawn and Astria exchanged a look. It was painfully obvious that Nicole was more on edge than usual whenever Sabrina was around, and what Nicole was saying certainly had a ring of truth to it. Both of the girls were so alike, yet so different at the same time, so more often than not, they butted heads. Where Sabrina was laid back, Nicole was rigid and unmoving. Where Nicole was cautious, Sabrina was gung-ho. Sabrina's in your face personality irked Nicole's propensity to be more precisely subtle, while Sabrina couldn't handle Nicole's uptight, pessimistic finality. But both of them were both as stubborn as the other, and unwilling to back down or compromise unless they came to a stalemate. Astria tried asking Twilight what she should do about it, but Twilight summed it up as the extreme polarity of the forces each girl commanded, and that it would be smoothed out over time. She didn't really like that answer since she felt it didn't give a solution that could be implemented immediately, but Astria really didn't have any ideas. Plus, she felt that if she pressed the issue, that Twilight would say that as the leader, she should handle it the way she saw fit... and Astria STILL didn't feel like much of a leader.

It bothered her, because she didn't want to be judged by her lack of progress. She knew she wasn't, not really... at least, no one had said anything to her since their first training sessions, but she knew it was some sort of unvoiced expectation that Nicole and Twilight especially held, and she felt that she was letting them down by not being the leader that they needed her to be. Sabrina was good to bolster her self-confidence, and took to teaching her some Tae Kwon Do on the side of the training lessons at night. Of course, Nicole didn't approve, but couldn't find any reason to oppose it since it was applicable to defending herself and taking down an enemy. Astria was grateful, but she was ever conscious of the fact that she really needed to learn how to use her glaive. She got better at ad-libbing on the fly, especially in close situations like when the youma attacked Sabrina in the back of The Lucky Clover. But she knew it wasn't to the caliber that Princess Celeste probably wielded the weapon and made it as deadly as it looked. _I keep comparing myself to this person that's supposed to be me, but I don't know her at all. Maybe I need to meditate on it, or something..._

Dawn noticed that Astria was zoned out pretty bad, and sat up and looked over at her. "What's up?"

Astria blinked out of her daze and looked at the two girls in her bedroom, almost forgotten. "Ah... just thinking, I guess. Twilight's been gone a lot, lately."

Nicole nodded, placing her hands in her lap, keeping her featured schooled so that it wouldn't show how relieved she was for the conversation not to be on her anymore. "Well, we have to find the last senshi, Sailor Autumnstar. Twilight's been working a lot, looking out for signs while also keeping an eye out for the youma or anything else that seems off."

Astria pursed her lips together and looked over Dawn's head to the window absently. "Hey... have you guys ever wondered why we're here?"

"Uh..." Dawn blinked, the confusion clearly showing on her face. "Because... we... were born here?"

"We're soldiers sworn to protect those that cannot protect themselves from these supernatural enemies." Nicole answered plainly. "Pretty simple to me."

"Yeah, but... I mean, have you guys ever wondered why now, and not before? Evil has always been around like this, just kept from our lives in its neat little box." Astria pressed. "I didn't have time to think on it before, since I was too caught up in the shock of school and being a senshi in general, and having my own talking cat that can answer all the questions I could ever think of about my little fandom, that I never got around to asking why I'm awakened NOW. What's our mission, honestly?"

"Twilight never told you?" Dawn asked, lighting onto the topic finally. "I mean, I kinda wondered myself, but I just figured that if it was top-secret or anything, then I'd just be told later."

Nicole looked at her weirdly. "Why would there be secrets kept from within the group? Twilight's been pretty good at informing us of what we need to know thus far, so it wouldn't make sense for her to be holding anything back now. Either way, you're both thinking too much. We're here to fight youma, and that's it. There doesn't have to be some kind of complicated backstory. Life isn't an anime or a Japanese drama."

"But it seems weird though! Shouldn't there be someone in charge of these youma that appear every so often? Shouldn't there be some kind of reason?" Dawn asked. "Maybe I do watch way more than my fair share of dramas..."

"As well as I watch way too much Sailormoon." Astria supplied, nodding.

"... but it just seems like we should be doing more, that's all." Dawn finished. "All of our action is centered on training in the park at night and sneaking back in the house after hours. I mean, what exactly are we training FOR? Twilight never mentioned."

"That's because there is nothing to mention." Nicole looked at them firmly. "What are you guys suggesting? That we get more on our plate than we already have at this moment trying to do all we need to do? I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm fine with honing my skills for a hypothetical situation rather than having one pop up when I'm not prepared to handle it. If there IS something more to this, then we'll handle it when we get to it. So, let's not jump the gun, okay?"

_But when WILL we be prepared? I wasn't prepared to become Sailor Star._ Astria kept her thoughts to herself this time, knowing that all it would get her is talking in circles with Nicole and her logic that was always presented in an undeniable manner. The girls fell into a bit of silence until there was a rustling at the window, and Dawn sat up and pulled back the sheer drape to see that Twilight was sitting on the sill. She pulled up the window to allow the cat room to squeeze in, and she daintily hopped down to the carpet and looked at the three.

"We've found Lady Fthinoporo."

Even Nicole blinked at that mouthful of a name. "Oh. Okay." Was all she said, then shook her head for a bit. "Wait, we?"

Twilight nodded. "Sabrina happened to be in the area when I lighted upon the final seasonal senshi, and was able to give me a bit of information about her I had previously not known."

"Such as?" Dawn scooted to the end of the seat, leaning forward in anticipation. "She doesn't go to our school, does she?"

"No, for if she had, then it would have been very simple to have found her by now. However, it seems like she is quite a regular at the park we use for our exercises, only at a different time of day than we are accustomed to arriving."

"Naturally. 10pm is a little bit, I dunno, against the law and all." Astria stretched. "So, when do we get to meet her?"

Twilight turned to her. "Right now. She's still there, but we'll have to hurry."

"Whoo! Recon mission time!" Dawn jumped up. "Although I really should be doing homework that's due in class tomorrow, I can always put that off some more. I mean, not like I've been doing anything productive sitting here right now. And if I go home, I'll just pop in a drama or something and forget all about the assignment until the LAST MINUTE, because I'm such a procrastinator and all, and I always have the habit of doing things like that when they're RIGHT-"

"Alright, enough babbling, Dawn." Nicole stood up. "Didn't Twilight say we have to hurry?" A smirk appeared on her face as Dawn pouted comically at her, and she turned and left the bedroom as Dawn whined and followed her out, complaining about how mean she was. After scouring the side of her room for her sneakers, Astria followed Dawn's endless chatter down the stairs, pausing before leaving the house to let her parents know that they were going for a short walk and would be back before dinner. Mrs. Benton had grown to like Astria's new friends, and was extremely happy to see that her daughter was no longer put off on her previous prejudices and dislike towards her school anymore. Tonight she was going to make a huge dinner featuring her delicious lasagna, and wanted to treat the girls heartily. Dawn all but pounced on the chance, and Nicole agreed to stay even though she learned afterwards that Astria had invited Sabrina over for dinner, as well. Astria just figured she and Dawn could keep distance between the two girls just in case, but at least Sabrina had promised to be on her best behavior. There was still a trace of a mischievous sparkle in the redhead's eyes, but Astria held her to her word.

Soon, the group of girls and a cat went walking the familiar route to the park, a warm breeze at their backs. The afternoon sun wasn't nearly as overbearing as it had been in the weeks prior, and the pleasant Georgia atmosphere would only last for a few weeks longer before dipping into the beginning throes of fall. As they approached the relatively nearby public park, they walked through the entrance and tried not to look too guilty at the casual gazes the guards cast over them, feeling conspicuous because of their nightly endeavors. Astria had picked up Twilight at that point in time, to minimize any questions as to why a group of high school girls looked like they were being led by a single feline without even so much of a leash or collar. The cat directed her past a couple of picnic areas to where Sabrina was seated, her bright red strands standing out from a distance amidst the green background the landscape of the park offered. When she noticed the girls approaching, she waved them over to the bench she had snagged and waited until everyone was settled.

"Because this doesn't look suspicious at all." Nicole muttered as she crossed her legs and eyeballed the group of people some ten feet away. "Is that her?"

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. Her name is Allison. I used to come to this park every day, before the school semester started up of course, to do running. I saw her leading these old folks through these exercises, and I thought it was pretty neat. One day, I actually waited until she was done and approached her just to say that whatever she was doing, it was pretty cool. She said it was a Chinese martial art called Tai Chi. Doesn't look like much of one, but I guess you can't judge a book by its cover."

Astria studied the slender African-American girl carefully leading a group of older men and women through various movements, each of them controlled and precise while maintaining a seemingly effortless flow that connected one to the other. Strands of her shoulder-length hair escaped from a ponytail at the nape of her neck as the breeze blew by every so often, but her face remained passive as she demonstrated a sweeping movement. Some of the people in the group got confused and raised questions on how to do it right, and she turned towards them with a smile and went over to guide their arms and legs through the move slowly.

"That looks pretty cool... but I don't know how effective it would be if old people can do it. No offense or anything." Dawn covered for her voiced thoughts with a slight blush.

"Well, then why don't we ask her?" Astria suggested. "It'd be a good conversation starter, wouldn't it? Then eventually, we can look into easing her into everything." Her mind skipped at something, and she looked down at Twilight in concern. "Hey, what if she refuses? Then what do we do?"

Twilight shook her head. "Highly unlikely. This is her soul's calling, even if her current incarnation does not know it."

The brunette just blinked. "Well, we also have free will."

Nicole let out a huff. "Look, the rest of us didn't say no, as crazy as all of this is. So, as long as you don't come off as a cultist, you should be in the clear."

"Astria'll handle it, it's all good." Sabrina leaned her elbows back on the picnic table carelessly.

Astria saw the look between her two friends and got up before they started throwing visual daggers above her head. "Well, it looks like she's finished for the day, so I'm going to get on that." Brushing any wrinkles off of her clothes, she straightened up and walked across the grass to the girl who was now waving goodbye to the group of elders who were now being led off by another person down to a large bus. Her heart started beating a bit quicker as she felt nervous all of a sudden, but she did her best to choke it down. _They're all depending on me._ "Uh... hi! Allison?"

The caramel skinned girl turned around and looked in surprise at the new girl who was addressing her. "Yes?" She confirmed, her voice full of quiet confusion. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

The brunette shook her head with a smile. "No, but one of my friends talked to you once. Sabrina, over there with the red hair." She gestured back to the table. "She mentioned that you did something called Tai Chi here in the park, and thought that she'd bring us here so we could see it in action."

Allison blinked for a bit as her brain pieced together everything, and she relaxed into a kind smile. For a moment, she actually did think that she had met whoever the girl was in front of her, but when she couldn't even recall her name or an instance in which they might have seen each other before, she blew it off as a strange case of déjàvu. "Yes, I started working with one of the senior living complexes in a nearby neighborhood. At my high school, we need a certain amount of community service hours to put on our resumes when we finally start submitting applications to colleges and universities, so I gave it a shot." She turned her head and watched as the white bus pulled off onto the main road leading out of the large park. "I ended up liking the community so much that I stayed even after the summer was over. They're really nice people."

"Hmm, that's really awesome of you! I don't know what I'm going to do for my community service requirement..." Astria furrowed her brow. "If DeCastis even HAS something like that, I don't even know."

Allison's eyes widened. "Oh, you go to DeCastis? That's really a prestigious school... I'm not sure if you would actually need to do anything like that. The name alone should carry you to the top universities in the nation, I would think."

Astria sighed and shrugged. "I dunno... I think I'd feel better if I actually earned my right to attend a great college if I worked for it, rather than them giving it to me just because of where I went to school. That's really ridiculous, in my opinion. But... let's not talk about things like school. I just got out of it not too long ago, so I don't like to think on those kinds of things any more than necessary." She clasped her hands together and got an excited, hopeful twinkle in her hazel eyes as she looked to the soft-spoken girl in front of her. "So... want to give me and my friends a crash course in Tai Chi?"

The slender girl got her second surprise of the day in such a short amount of time. "Really?" She gaped for a moment. "I mean... most people don't know what it is, let alone want to learn it. Especially young people; they think it's weird and only for old people."

Astria waved it off good-naturedly. "Well, I'm one of those that don't know what it is, but I'd like to think I'm a pretty open minded person. So... is it okay? Are we keeping you, or anything?"

Allison gave her head a little shake, still wide-eyed in surprise at the request. "No, it's fine. Umm... would you like to start now?"

"Yep! Just give me a sec." She turned around and shouted back at the table. "HEY YOU GUYS! COME OVER HERE FOR A SEC!" After a very quick exchange of glances between them, Dawn, Sabrina and Nicole got up and walked over to Astria and Allison. She might have been over-exaggerating, but Astria swore that as soon as all of them were situated in the same spot, that she felt some strange exchange of energy. She wanted to ask if anyone else had felt it, but that wouldn't be smart to do out of the blue. Either or, she surmised that it wasn't a bad sensation... it just felt complete. "So! Guess what? We're gonna learn some Tai Chi!"

Nicole lifted a slender eyebrow and deadpanned Astria. "What?"

"Ooh, really? I've never learned a martial art before!" Dawn exclaimed, looking at Allison in bubbly excitement. "Oh wait. Is it going to hurt?"

Sabrina just barked out a laugh. "Seriously, if you get hurt doing this, then there must be something wrong with you, no offense." She nodded her chin up at Allison with a grin. "What's up? I know it's been awhile since I last ran around here, but things got busy with the shop and stuff, so I had to cut that out in favor of other things. Glad to see you're still around."

Allison let out a timid smile, somewhat awkward around the new group of people. "Of course. I'll always be here... unless it rains. I need to be outside in order to practice."

Dawn tilted her head, her blonde waves floating in the breeze. "Really? Why?"

Allison looked up to the sky for a moment. "Nature. I don't believe that Tai Chi is something that is done at its best without it. I may not be the best at taking care of flowers, and I've been known to undergo some serious sinus attacks when a lot of pollen is in the air, but this martial art is tuned to nature." Her chocolate colored eyes lit upon a tree in the distance. "See that tree over there?" She pointed, and the girls lifted their eyes to follow her line of vision. "Which do you think is stronger; the wind or the tree?"

"Tree's still standing. It's rooted to the ground. It's probably older than dirt, seeing how big it is. It hasn't gotten felled, yet." Sabrina said, folding her arms. "I think it's obvious enough."

"Is it?" Allison remained staring at the tree, a faint smile on her face. "Then how do tornadoes knock over the heaviest of oak trees with little effort?" She turned back to Sabrina. "Air is soft. You can walk through it, you breathe it. Yet, wind is known to tear down houses, pick up cars, and tear up the earth. The reason why the tree is still standing now is because it yields to the wind. Its branches bend around the force, no matter how small, the wind exerts. Only through that harmony can both co-exist. It's not about how hard you push against your opponent, it's about how you yield to them."

Nicole tilted her head up slightly, respect in her gaze. "Interesting."

Allison glanced at her and blushed for a bit, looking down. "Sorry, I must really sound like a crazy hippie person now, right? I just really understand and enjoy Tai Chi; it's my favorite thing to do, and it helps clear my mind enough after school and such so I can actually sit down and do my homework."

"Can we do it now?" Dawn asked. "I wanna see what this is all about."

"Oh, okay. Well..." Allison stepped back. "Why don't you guys line up side by side in a straight line, and make sure you have enough room on either side of you, like arm's length."

As the girls did so, Allison took her place in front of them and nodded. "First things first, Tai Chi is a martial art. People don't see it as such, because no one is getting beat up, and it doesn't look like any energy is being exerted. But, Tai Chi Quan is called "iron wrapped in silk". You don't show your strength blatantly to your opponent. There is hidden strength and purpose in every movement, and only the trained eye can see it. Umm..." She coughed a little bit. "Before I go on a tangent, I'm just going to lead you through some basic exercises that will show you how to move your body to get the correct energy flowing."

Twilight watched them from the bench that was all but forgotten, and laid her head on her front paws. _All of them are together, now._ She felt both relieved, yet apprehensive at the same time. And she certainly knew why. _I must prepare to tell them of their purpose._ The cat had done well to hide them from it thus far; she didn't think that it would have been the best time to bring up something of that magnitude while attempting to acclimate them all to the double life of a sailor senshi. Twilight hoped that when she gathered them and told them, that they would take it well and feel prepared enough during their training to handle such a task. _It is not whether or not they feel prepared... they MUST be prepared._

While Allison paused in the middle of some of the most basic moves in Tai Chi to help reposition Dawn on her current stance, a figure stepped out from the trees opposite them. Twilight felt it before she saw the person, and all of her warning bells went off as she jerked her head up and stared right at the newcomer. The head and body was draped in a brown cloak that effectively kept the face of the person in a constant state of shadow, and the cat also felt that the attire was further spelled to keep it in its place. Out from under the hem, black boots could be seen with every step that was taken closer to the oblivious group that was retaining their practice, and Twilight arched her back and hissed. She wanted to run over and warn the girls, but Allison had yet to know of her true purpose and she still wanted the integration process to go as smoothly as possible.

Even as she watched the events unfold in front of her, she knew that it was already too late.

"I have to thank you girls for gathering here on this lovely afternoon."

All of them looked over then and blinked at the figure that seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Nicole narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Who are you?"

The womanly voice let out a small laugh before continuing. "Wouldn't that be a spoiled surprise. That is for me to know, and you to find out." She took another step forward. "If you are able."

"What?" Sabrina pursed her lips together at the taunt. "Look, I'm about two seconds away from acquainting my fist with your face. So what the hell do you want?"

"To see if you really are who I think you are." The figure replied simply. "My youma have been drawn to this area of the world, and I have decided to see what has intrigued them so." She scanned over the rag tag group with eyes deeply shrouded by her hood. "All of your energy patterns are of a sort I have not sensed in quite some time. Could it be...?"

Astria heart froze in place, and next to her, she could feel Dawn do much of the same. They were in big trouble, and caught completely off guard at that. _It seems like the head honcho finally decided to rear her head, and out in the open and dead of day, no less. Argh! What to do?_ There were too many things at stake. There weren't many people at the park from what she could remember from when they walked in, since it was a weekday and most people were either still at work or at home or maybe still in after-school activities. But if someone lighted upon them at that moment, or even if things got ugly... a civilian could get hurt and they would risk exposing their relatively quiet existence. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted poor Allison, who was completely lost to whatever exchange was going on, and simply looking in pure confusion at the oddly dressed visitor.

_Well... for better or for worse... we can't wait for the other side to make any more moves._

"Guys," Astria spoke up, struggling to make her voice audible. "Transform."


	10. Episode IX

**A/N: ** What a long period of time on a cliffhanger. D: I'm sorry about that. Hiatus is still in effect, but I had this chapter finished, so I decided to go ahead and post it.

* * *

Allison blinked and shielded her eyes from the sudden flashes of light that obscured her vision. She honestly didn't know what was going on from one moment to the next. Some mysterious woman had shown up looking like some weird wannabe Jedi, and now the group of girls she was showing how to correctly execute the Tai Chi move called Ward Off had pulled out various trinkets and shouted similar phrases. She was honestly going to wonder if she was caught in the middle of some prank until the unexpected light caught her off guard and she had to step back from everything and blink her eyes a lot to get her bearings straight once more.

When she did, she really wasn't sure what she was seeing anymore, either.

"So, I don't have a speech or anything." Sailor Star said, holding her Star Glaive in front of her. The yellow ribbons that trailed from the back of her skirt fluttered innocently in the breeze that had picked up, and twined slightly around her legs that were braced in a wide stance. "But I do know that if you're bad news, we're all going to make sure you get your life's priorities straight."

The figure took a step back in surprise, and then let out a melodious peal of laughter that carried easily across the lawn. A couple of strands of dark green hair drifted past the confines of the cloak as she did so, but nothing else served to identify the person in front of them. "Oh, Selenity!" She exclaimed in response to a hidden joke that only she understood. "You've certainly covered your tracks well, haven't you?"

"Um, what does Selenity have to do with anything?" Springstar asked timidly. The figure stopped and examined her in amusement for a moment before replying. "More than I originally thought, my dear. Much more."

"Screw this. SUMMERTIME FIRESTAR BLAST!" Summerstar conjured a large fireball and hurled it at the mystery woman, who side-stepped the attack calmly and watched it fly past her in mild interest.

"Hasty, aren't we, Kalokairi?" Everyone could almost feel the smirk on the cloaked one's face when the senshi visibly started at the mention of Summerstar's true name. "Oh yes, I know exactly who you all are. It's quite obvious, given the height of power your combined auras exudes." Her head moved, and Allison's breath caught in her throat as she could feel the unseen eyes of attention on her. "Including your newest addition, am I correct, Fthinoporo?"

"... I don't know what you're talking about." Allison stated, eyeballing the entire group warily. "I'm not in anything."

"Is that so?" The figure replied, a lilt in her voice. "I suppose that makes this easier." A hand shot out from the cloak's folds, and a blast of purple energy shot forth too fast for anyone to do anything about it and struck Allison head on. Lifted off of her feet by the unexpected impact, she flew a short distance away before rolling to a stop on the grass, lying face down and not moving.

Sailor Star just stared blankly at Allison's unmoving figure, her eyes wide and her body frozen in shock. Everything seemed so far away, and her vision had tunneled down to the gentle girl who had been willing not so many moments before, to take time out of her schedule to share with them all her beloved hobby. Even though they had only met not even an hour ago, she couldn't handle the horror and the overwhelming sense of despair that had swept over her when she thought about how someone as innocent as Allison was cut down without having the opportunity to truly shine.

"Astria, move it!" Winterstar's voice drifted to her ears, but Star still stood facing the other way, her eyes glazed over and her mouth slightly open. Giving up for the meantime, the ice senshi turned to Springstar. "Dawn, I need you to cause a distraction. Now."

Springstar blinked out of her own daze. "Oh... Oh! Okay!" She brought her hands over her head. "SPRING FLORAL FANTASY!" At her command, thousands of flower petals rose from the ground and fluttered about, obscuring the newcomer's vision and generally creating a nuisance. At that, Winterstar summoned her henshin stick. "WINTER WATER WHIP!" She lashed out at the cloaked figure, who jumped up and neatly out of range before landing some yards away. Extending her palm again, she sent another blast of energy that scattered the two senshi and left a mark on the grass in its place. Summerstar sprang into action then, running full speed towards her enemy and tossing various fireballs as she did so. The woman deflected some of them while dodging others, and materialized a long spear out of midair. She got a hold of it just in time to aim it directly at Summerstar's midsection, who was running way too fast to compensate for the sudden turn of events.

"Oh, shi-" Summerstar prepared to brace for the very unpleasant impact, but was saved at the last minute by a familiar whip tugging the point off a couple of feet to the side, allowing the fire senshi to save herself from being impaled. "Thanks, Nikki!" She gave a thumbs up while she circled the now armed character, trying to come up with a new plan of attack.

"I'd like it if everyone would stop calling me that." Winterstar replied dryly, coming around the other side of the cloaked figure. "In the meantime, try not to get yourself killed, if you will?"

"I'm working on it." Summerstar easily replied. "But the first thing on my list is taking this bitch down."

The figure laughed again, a carefree tune that belied the serious situation that had unfolded. "Oh yes, you may try. This will be fun. It's not like I haven't defeated your kind before."

"Say what?!" Springstar squeaked. Winterstar ignored all commentary and lashed out with her winter whip, arching it to wrap around one of the hands that was holding the spear. Slowly, the hand began to be encased in ice, but the figure looked down at her hand in curiosity and a bit of wonder at the sensation, before using a bit of magic to enhance her physical strength to swing her arm outwards quickly. This caused Winterstar, who was still holding onto her own whip, to gasp and be flung at high velocity into the picnic table they at which they were once seated, and the entire thing went up into splinters of wood. Springstar screamed, and tossed a blast of flower petals in the direction of the culprit as she raced over to the limp form of Winterstar. Summerstar cursed colorfully as she threw a kick at what she estimated to be the ribs of the woman. It connected, and the figure went stumbling to the side, but reacted fast enough to dodge the follow up right hook that Summerstar was aiming at her face and was able to deflect her with the blunt side of the spear. As Summerstar faltered, she followed it up with another blast of energy that sent her rocketing into a tree. The senshi's collision caused the trunk to crack, and her body ricochet to the ground. Gritting her teeth at the sheer amount of pain going through her spine, Summerstar tried not to think about how that might have killed her if she wasn't currently transformed, and worked on slowly pulling herself up by the elbows.

Meanwhile, Springstar was pulling shards of wood out of Winterstar's hair as she stirred back to consciousness, her eyelids fluttering. The flower senshi was at a loss of what to do. She wasn't powerful enough to do much to the cloaked figure, especially after seeing how easily she disabled the strongest seasonal senshi with what looked like minimal effort. Training her blue eyes around, she took note of Sailor Star still staring into the distance, not looking like she had moved an inch since Allison had been brutally attacked. She was also able to make out Twilight's brown figure over by Allison who hadn't moved from her position on the ground, as well. _We haven't trained enough to prepare for something like this. God, what are we going to do? _She sucked in a breath of alarm as the spear-handling woman turned from the others and walked towards Star.

"ASTRIA!! YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING, GIRL!!" When her shout didn't seem to do any good, she carefully got to her feet and steeled the parts of her body that seemed to be shaking with the anticipation of whatever she was going to do. _If I have to give my life to make sure that Astria's safe, then I'll do it. Not the way I had intended on going out, but... _Taking a deep breath, Springstar rushed forward to shoulder check the figure out of the way...

... and skidded to a halt right after taking her first step.

The cloaked figure stopped herself, finding her progress hindered by the edge of a curved blade at the exact height of where her neck would be.

"Astria?" Springstar breathed out, relieved that she had finally made a move in the entire ill-fated battle. "God, I'm so glad that you-"

"Anoixi. Please step aside." Sailor Star replied firmly, causing Springstar to blink in surprise and concede by backing up more than a few steps. _She's never addressed me as that before... _she eyeballed Star uncertainly, not knowing what to make of the entire situation now.

"Pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Celeste." The figure said. "Isn't this the last place I'd expect to find you, of all people."

Star replied by turning the Star Glaive effortlessly and executing a downward strike that would have cleaved the newcomer in half if she had not anticipated the attack and jumped backwards and tossed a purple blast as retaliation.

"Star Block." The star-shaped energy shield materialized at her command and deflected the attack, and as it dispersed, yellow strands of energy circled ominously around the crystal in the weapon. "STAR GLAIVE SURPRISE!" The large yellow ball of energy cut a mighty trench in the ground as it traveled, and very quickly did the cloaked intruder find herself on the defensive as she made to jump clear over the attack before it collided with her. Her booted feet barely touched the ground below before she had to deflect a series of blows from the senshi with her spear, the clanging of the weapons being quite audible as they met.

"How did Selenity bribe you to give up your cushiony life in Staria?" The woman taunted, being careful to stay clear of the glaive's blade.

"Queen Selenity had nothing to do with my decision." Star replied, her weapon paralleled to her body as she strafed. "It was my own."

The figure snorted in distaste. "Then you really are the fool I suspected you for."

Sailor Star tilted her chin regally. "The only fool I see is the one that stands before me, cowardly enough to remain unseen by her foes, yet brazen enough to attack my Sisters."

Twirling the spear in one hand before firmly grasping it in both, the enemy launched forward for another spar with Sailor Star, who had resumed an offensive position herself and was ready for the next ground with a hardened gaze.

"AUTUMN TEMPEST RISE!" A sudden violent tornado knocked the cloaked figure high into the air, where she flailed for a moment before getting her bearings straight to flip gracefully and land some yards away, crouching with her hands to the ground for extra balance. The spear had been lost in the flash attack, and was now stuck in the grass off to the side where the wind had blown it. "I see. It looks like we'll have to consider this battle another time, Celeste. Let's hope it's twice as memorable." With that, she shimmered out of existence, the weapon gone with her presence.

"Holy shit, man..." Summerstar limped towards them. She looked over at Winterstar, who had finally gotten enough energy back to get to her feet, even if she wobbled unsteadily. "Who the hell was that?"

"I don't know..." Springstar answered uncertainly. "But... uh... we have bigger problems right now."

Everyone looked to see that quite a crowd of people had arrived to watch the battle play out, too scared to get close but too curious and awed to leave. "See what I mean?" Springstar said, her face pained with worry. "I was afraid that this would happen."

"It's no matter." Sailor Star stepped forward and raised her Glaive, the Star Crystal pulsating brighter and brighter. "They will forget what they saw this afternoon." The golden light washed over the expanse of the park, easily encompassing every person that had seen or might have been alerted to the events that had just transpired. By the time that the crowd in question blinked and was wondering why they were all gathered in the same spot, the only thing left in the senshi's place was a demolished picnic table and battle marks in the grass.

* * *

"So... sorry for the crash course on things, Allie." Summerstar apologized to their final seasonal senshi, Sailor Autumnstar. "Needless to say, that came up out of nowhere."

"It couldn't be helped, so don't worry about it." Autumnstar replied, clasping her hands behind her back. "I don't even know if I allowed myself time to internalize all of this... but I think it was a good thing I hadn't, since I'm not sure I'd be standing here right now." The senshi of autumn held a darker color motif than the rest of them, her sailor collar and skirt sporting a deep, almost black shade of green. The bow on the front and the back of her uniform were of a rusty brown that held a sheen of copper when viewed at a certain angle, and her choker and brooch carried the motif of an orangey-gold oak leaf. The knee length boots of the same brownish-copper were laced intricately from bottom to top at the back of her calves, and the heel was comparable to Winterstar's own footwear. Her dark brown hair had lost the ponytail with her transformation, and now rested at her shoulders in a bob that complimented her face.

All of them had been teleported to the protected spot in the park that the girls had used for their training sessions in order to recuperate. Winterstar, Summerstar, and Autumnstar had sustained a sufficient amount of injuries that needed to be healed as quickly as possible, and the only way that it could be ensured was through the power embedded in the senshi uniform. Springstar swallowed and eyeballed Sailor Star carefully, not really knowing what to say. She wasn't sure if anyone else in the group had noticed through everything, but she felt it still wasn't Astria who had saved them from the mystery opponent.

Twilight stepped forward and looked up at Star. "Your highness."

This certainly caused Summerstar to double-take. "What the fuck? You mean..."

Sailor Star turned around and addressed the senshi with a wan smile. For the first time, everyone noticed that her hazel eyes with only a hint of green were now a deep emerald, comparable to the guardian cat's own color. The way she carried herself now was much more elegant than what came naturally to Astria, and the star on her forehead seemed to glow brighter than before. The normally carefree and messy state of her brunette strands was less noticeable due to the fact that her hair took on a gossamer-like quality and flowed about her shoulders and arms as if it had assumed an air of its own. Winterstar remained silent and just stared at her, not really knowing what to think of this sudden turn of events.

"The shock of seeing Fthinoporo struck down initiated an abrupt switch of consciousness for the time being." Star explained without prompt, reading the questions in their eyes. "The girl you know as Astria is still here, recuperating. She will not remember anything that happened once she regains control."

"So... MPD?" Springstar asked, then shook her head quickly. "I'm sorry, uh... Princess, but I don't understand what's going on. Will our past selves starting taking over our bodies, too? Or something like that?" She placed her gloved hands to her cheeks that were starting to turn the same color pink as her skirt. "God, I hope I don't sound too stupid here..."

Star shook her head. "At ease, please. This isn't a formal occasion, so do not feel like you must address me as 'Princess'. I am as your equals." She tilted her head to the side. "In answer to your questions, Anoixi, I beg you not to be alarmed. Eventually, you all will come into your powers and past memories, but it will be a gradual process. Who you were in the past will mesh with the person you are now, inseparable and indistinguishable from one another. However..." Her features became concerned. "Astria's awakening was different, for some reason."

"Why?" Autumnstar spoke up. "I know the least of what's going on, so forgive me if my question is sub par."

"It is fine. For all purposes, no question is negligible. You all need to know as much as you can about yourself, and thus far, you have been relying so much on Twilight for assistance." She smiled down at her advisor before returning her gaze to them with a sigh. "Astria's fear is inhibiting the fusion of our souls, so we are currently two units in one frame. I am hidden in her unconscious, waiting to be properly unlocked so that she may realize her full potential."

"So... you'll have to leave eventually and let Astria back into her body." Winterstar stated, her face impassive.

Sailor Star looked at the ice senshi and smiled knowingly. "Of course. This is still her life, and her decision to make. No one else can make it for her." Her eyes drifted down slightly as she fell into thought. "She is... afraid of not being good enough. And as much as she may not show it, she is also scared of the unknown. There are a lot of questions she has not the answers to, nor does she feel like she can ask them."

Springstar scratched her head. "Like what?"

Star looked down to Twilight then. "Serenity is here, is she not?"

The cat nodded slowly, her eyes juggling a myriad of emotions, the most dominant of them being apprehension.

The sailor suited princess continued to train her eyes on her advisor, her face passive yet unwavering. "But?"

A long sigh left Twilight's body then, and for the first time everyone could see that the feline was very, very weary. Her entire demeanor slumped into much less than the rather stern figure she usually cut to keep the girls in line. "There has been an... unexpected turn of events that have forced me to awaken all of you, but I was waiting for the correct time to put it forth to you all." She looked at all of them then. "Please accept my apology for not relinquishing the entirety of your mission up until now. I meant no ill will with the way I went about things."

"Oooh, Astria was right!" Springstar chirped. "There is something else going on around here!"

"So, uh... there's more to this?" Summerstar asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Twilight looked sidelong at Sailor Star. "I am afraid so. Princess Celeste was the only one who consciously made the decision to leave her kingdom to be reborn here on Earth. The... your past incarnations are here for varying reasons."

Star let out a small laugh, recalling a specific memory with more than a bit of wistfulness in her eyes. "You four were the last ones I met before making my final decision in that life. Cheimonas was the most upset, and informed me that if I were to do anything as foolishly irreconcilable as what I was proposing, she would follow me simply to drag me back before the court to be charged with something akin to high treason. Fthinoporo, you were the most understanding of my situation." She gave a brief smile at Autumnstar, who was currently enthralled with absorbing as much information as possible, a perplexed look on her features. "You remained silent... until you said "The Lady's decision, as however it may be, is her own, and shall stand." I don't remember much after that..." Star frowned slightly, and her eyes blinked quickly for a moment. "Forgive me. Recalling too much of the past puts strain on both Astria and I. So I suppose we should cease reminiscing." She nodded at Twilight. "Continue."

"The past and the specific reasons for you all being here must be saved for another time. I brought it up only to further emphasize that you all were never meant to be born here. As such, your lives as you live them now serve no connection to the past, outside of the link between you all that will not dissipate until your souls cease the reincarnation cycle. I have survived here on this Earth since the time of the Princess' departure from Staria as an absent guardian, to observe that your lives remained as normal as possible."

Summerstar lifted an eyebrow. "So... how old are you again, Twilight?"

The cat blinked at her before continuing. "I have met with Luna and Artemis once the time came for their incarnations on this Earth, and had informed them of what happened shortly after Queen Selenity used the Silver Crystal to transport them to a new life in the future on this planet. We agreed that you all should be allowed to continue a normal existence... unless the time came when the extra power was sorely needed."

"This would mean that the other Sailor Senshi encountered something they can't handle by themselves, then." Winterstar mused. She flicked her gaze up to everyone. "Do you think the person we encountered today is one of the people involved?"

"It is quite possible. I don't know who she is, however." Sailor Star frowned. "Her aura was... strangely muted along with her identity. Nevertheless, she alone would not be more than a nuisance to Serenity and her guard. There must be something else that we are missing. Twilight, have you heard anything from them?"

"No."

The simplicity of the answer set everyone on guard, as all attention was focused on the brown cat that was sitting on her haunches in the grass, her eyes downcast.

"... Twilight... what happened?" Autumnstar spoke up gently. "Why can't we contact our allies?"

The Mau swallowed slowly and braced herself as she looked up and met everyone's individual gazes. "You cannot contact them because they are no longer in existence. You were all awakened because there are no more Sailor Senshi. You all are to replace the former guardians of this planet by defeating whatever evil dares to tarnish life on this Earth. That is your purpose."

Silence. Springstar's mouth dropped open and her eyes stretched just as wide, and Summerstar looked back and forth between everyone's various displays of astonishment before sputtering for a bit. "Say WHAT? You're meaning to tell me that NINE sailor senshi just dropped off the face of the Earth without warning??"

"What does this mean, exactly? Are they all dead?" Winterstar asked bluntly, her face hard and unreadable.

"Presumably so, although it's not affirmative. There... could be a small chance that they are still alive, somewhere." Twilight got to all fours and began pacing, the rare emotion of distress present in all of her movements. "Luna and Artemis have told me that the senshi had gone out to investigate a distress call, and never returned. They do not know much more than that."

"Okay, for our sanity's sake, let's keep it on the bright side and say for now that they're alright, and that we just have to find them, okay?" Springstar babbled, nervously twirling a strand of blonde hair between her fingertips. "I like that idea a lot better than just going out and fighting some unknown enemy by ourselves. I don't know about you guys, but today's fight was the first real one we've ever had as a group, and we got our tooshes beat. If it wasn't for As.. Celeste and Allison thinking fast and throwing that chick off, I don't know where we would be right now. We've trained, but we're still not ready."

"Yeah, we are more than a little wet behind the ears." Summerstar grudgingly conceded, kneading one of her shoulders. "But I don't think we can afford to assume that they're still alive. We don't know how long the normal senshi have been gone, but I think it's safe to assume that it's been long enough to send out the flare to get us out of our everyday slumber, so to speak. And something tells me that we're going to be seeing more and more public problems of the supernatural kind after today; home bitch wasn't too thrilled leaving us bodily intact. If anything, we need to figure out who's the head honcho and beating the living crap out of whoever it is, and just winging it for the rest."

Winterstar let out a puff of air from her mouth, her bangs flicking upwards to reveal an exasperated glance. "We can't just wing EVERYTHING."

Summerstar let out a similar sigh, rolling her eyes at her ally. "And we can't be prepared for EVERYTHING, either."

"So... what do we do?" Springstar asked, and Autumnstar simply moved her gaze to Star, who had turned slightly away from them ever since Twilight had revealed their true purpose moments before. The brunette was standing straight with her eyes blank, her head tilted upwards, almost as if she was waiting for a response from the heavens. Every so often, a breeze would rustle through the trees and stir her hair about her, but she didn't flinch. All of the Seasonal Senshi, including Twilight, patiently waited until the moment when Star's attention snapped back down to earth.

"We must find her." Was Star's response, her emerald eyes determined.

Twilight shook her head wearily. "Celeste, I understand your connection to Serenity, but-"

"She is out there. And we will find her, and her court." Star replied again, having said it in such a manner that allowed no further rebuttal. "Until every corner of this Earth is scoured, we will not give up." She scanned the rest of the senshi with a firm gaze. "I despise pulling rank, especially on you all... but this is of the utmost importance. The journey will be as hard as it might be long, but it will be done. I... the connection I have now is weak, as I used too much of my energy projecting my consciousness to scan for a trace of Serenity. Her aura is faint... but not altogether gone. She might be well hidden. Nevertheless, we have no time to lose."

Summerstar tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Alright then, I'm in. A plan is a plan. Let's finally get this party started!"

Autumnstar swallowed carefully before speaking. "I still don't know quite what's going on, but... all I have to rely on is my instincts right now. And as insane as this day has become for me, I am a firm believer in that things must happen for a reason. Maybe it's all the philosophy that goes along with Tai Chi that's affected my brain over the years, or something." She managed a sheepish flash of a smile. "But a part of me knew the moment I transformed, that I stepped into something that I couldn't turn my back on."

"An order is an order, right?" Springstar sighed. "I will admit, I totally don't have a good feeling about this... but then again, I didn't have a good feeling about anything ever since that woman showed up and nearly killed us. I don't know what we'll find or what we're supposed to be looking out for... and not only that, we have to watch our backs in the process. It's a lot to think about... so, I guess I should just stop thinking now!" She stretched, and did her best to put a smile on her face and her worries to the side. "Nikki, what's your vote?"

The raven-haired senshi didn't seem to be clued in on the discussion that was currently going on, and now she surprised everyone as she sucked in a slight breath and rushed forward. Before the others had time to question it, they saw Winterstar arrive just in time to catch Sailor Star before she hit the ground in a dead faint. Everyone gathered around and watched as the brooch on Star's bow flashed, and the transformation faded to show Astria in her civilian clothes and looking to be in a deep sleep.

"Oh my god, what happened?? Is she going to be okay??" Springstar whispered nervously, looking down over Winterstar's shoulder as the senshi of the winter was kneeling down in the grass with Astria's upper body cushioned on her lap.

"She should. I think the Princess couldn't keep up the connection anymore, and all of this drained way too much of both she and Astria's physical and magical resources." Winterstar looked upon Astria's face for a few moments longer before looking over at Twilight. "She needs rest, and while this place is safe, we can't stay here and wait for however long it might take for her to come to. How can we get her home without people freaking out and calling 911 or overall being suspicious?"

Twilight lapsed in thought for a moment before nodding. "If you all detransform and let me lead, it should be possible. I can attempt to perform a larger version of a charm that I have used on myself when I did not want to be seen by others. It does not make one invisible, per se, but when people look upon you, they will see you without seeing you in the same fashion. We should be as swift as possible, however, since I do not know how long the spell will last since I must stretch my limited resources to include all of you."

After all of them had detransformed, Sabrina stepped forward and looped one of Astria's arms around her neck and helped balance the weight that Nicole was taking on the other side in the same fashion, and Dawn followed Twilight and led the rest of the group out of the wooded area as Allison held the rear, observing their surroundings for anything anyone else might not catch. Steadily and surely, they all traced their steps back to the neighborhood where the safety net of Astria's house awaited them, and where they would decide what their next course of action would be.


End file.
